Ruto to unveil new Kenya police uniforms on Friday

The General Duty officers under the Kenya Police Service (KPS) will start donning the new-look police uniform.

Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja said the National Police Service (NPS) will implement recommendations arising from a 2023 police public participation exercise that saw police officers reject the current navy blue outfit.

The new look uniform will be unveiled by President William Ruto during the Kiganjo Police Training College pass-out on Friday August 28, Kanja said.

Kanja said the uniform to first be won by the graduating officers is meant to conform with the needs of NPS officers.

“We have been using the blue, the deep blue one, so we have just reverted back to the one that was agreed upon. I must note that on Monday, I will also be in that one,” he said.

While their counterparts in the Administration Wing and the General Service Unit maintain their current uniforms, Kanja intimated that the new look attire will be gradually re-introduced to all general duty officers, to improve morale, and subsequently service delivery.

“In the next few coming weeks, we should see the new uniform that was approved sometimes back and I think this is also going to be a force multiplier,” said the IG.

He was speaking when he assessed preparations for the passing out Parade for the more than 6,000 police constables who have completed their training at the institution.

The new uniform was first unveiled in February 2023 when then Inspector General of police Japhet Koome donned it during a meeting.

The previous government phased out the iconic blue police uniform, which had been in use for decades.

The redesign was intended to increase the visibility of officers and create uniformity across all ranks during the merger of the Administration Police and the Kenya Police Service.

There is a uniform committee which consists mostly of officials from security agencies and is chaired by the Vice Chief of Defence Forces of Kenya Defence Forces.

The other members include a representative from National Police Service, Kenya Prisons Service, Kenya Forest Service, Kenya Wildlife Service and National Youth Service.

It approve such uniforms.

The team had arrived at the bright blue colour as the one for the working uniform by the General Duty personnel.

Officials said the team compared and checked on many other colours and established they had been adopted for use by other security agencies in the region.

Police, especially those in operational areas also use jungle, green and khaki uniforms.

The Kenya police has adopted a new set of uniform for its use.

Other units in the National Police Service will maintain their current uniforms. They include Administration Police Service and General Service Unit who use jungle ones.

The taskforce on Improvement of the conditions of service of the National Police Service and Kenya Prisons Service approved the recommendations on the new uniforms.

It had, in its report in 2023 said police should be allowed to revert to the old uniforms for three years.

The former government said the process surrounding the adoption of a neutral colour was to symbolise the merger and the abandoning of the previous AP and the Kenya Police signature colours.

Officials defended the new uniform saying it was a carefully considered choice that was endorsed by the relevant government committee.

The uniforms were then wholly being made in Kenya by local textiles firms based in Thika, Kitui, Nakuru and Eldoret under a Buy Kenya, Build Kenya government drive that had also significantly cut costs.

This enabled the hiring of more officers and the modernisation of police equipment. It also created more job opportunities for Kenyans.

It is not clear is the same is being done now.