Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has announced that the Nairobi Metropolitan Police Unit will begin it’s operations on May 1. He spoke after meeting the team that has been working quietly to put the unit together.
This new police unit is part of a plan driven by President William Ruto and agreed on by both the national government and Nairobi County. The idea behind it is making the city safer and improve how police respond when people need help.
Murkomen said everything is now in place: how the unit will run, who will lead it and how it will be rolled out. What the government wants now is faster response, better coordination and a system that actually works for ordinary people.
“This is about making policing work better for ordinary people,” he said.
Inspector General Douglas Kanja, Internal Security Principal Administrative Secretary Jacob Narengo, Internal Security Secretary Administration Thomas Saka, NPS Director of Reforms, John Kamau, and other senior government officials other were also part of the meeting, showing how seriously the government is taking the rollout.
Governor Johnson Sakaja, says Ksh 80 billion deal between the national and county governments is meant to tackle some of the problems Nairobi residents deal with every day.
A big portion Ksh33 billion will go into fixing sewer systems. This includes: building two major sewer lines along the Nairobi River, putting up a new treatment plant and connecting more homes. Another Ksh15 billion will go into expanding the system even further.
Roads and drainage will receive Ksh8.7 billion to help reduce traffic and deal with flooding, something many Nairobians struggle with whenever it rains.
There’s also a plan to improve lighting across the city. About Ksh 8.5 billion will be used to install 50,000 street lights, which should help improve security at night and allow businesses to run longer hours. Part of that money will also go into improving electricity access, especially in informal settlements.
Water shortages, which are a daily reality in some areas, are set to be addressed with Sh5.1 billion for upgrades and new pipelines.
And for the long-standing issue of garbage, Sh6 billion has been set aside to improve waste collection and disposal.
For many people, these plans may sound familiar but there’s hope this time that things will actually move. If they do, together with the new police unit, it could mean safer streets, cleaner estates and a city that feels a bit more organized than it does today.