Willis Otieno proposes election of OCPDs by local residents
By Mabonga Makhanu, July 30, 2025With the calls for police reforms escalating day by day, Safina Party deputy party leader Willis Otieno has come out to offer a controversial option calling for the election of Officers Commanding Police Divisions (OCPDs) by residents in their jurisdictions.
While speaking on a popular podcast aired on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, Otieno said Kenyans should be allowed to oversee police at their level and ultimately believes it is time to elect their own OCPDs. He explained that the OCPD could be a civilian or a police officer but must draw their mandate from the people in that police division.
Kenyans should be allowed to oversee the police at their level. Ultimately, do believe it’s time we should elect our own n OCPDs. We need to elect our own OCPD. The OCPD can be a civilian or a police officer but draws his mandate from the people in that police division,” Willis said.
Otieno pointed out that as it stands today, OCPDs receive instructions from “orders from above”, which, in his view, often come from politicians who are using the police to pursue political interests.
He emphasised the need to break that control from politicians and said the best way would be to allow people at the division level to elect their own OCPD. He added that all officers under the OCPD could still be appointed by the National Police Service, but once deployed to a police division, they would be under the command of the elected OCPD.
“Because as it is today, this OCPD – where do they get their instructions from? Orders from above? Who is above? Is it politicians who are now using the police to pursue political interests? We have to break that control from politicians. What better way to say it at the command level at the division? Let people elect their own OCPD and all the officers under him. They can be appointed by the National Police Service, but once they are deployed to that police division, they are under the command of that elected OCPD,” he added.
Abductions
According to Willis, this will also cure the current wave of abductions with unidentified police moving in Subarus, stating that the OCPD would be directly responsible for their division and obligated to explain who those people are, conduct investigations, and be answerable to the people who elected him if found complicit.
“So that if there is a rogue unit moving around in Subaru abducting people, the OCPD is responsible for that division. He has a duty to explain who these people are and is supposed to carry out an investigation to know who these people are and if he is part of it. It’s people who elected him,” he concluded.