President William Ruto on Monday presided over the graduation of 1,837 Chiefs and Assistant Chiefs at the National Police College, Embakasi ‘A’ Campus in Nairobi, marking a major milestone in Kenya’s efforts to strengthen grassroots governance and public administration.
The officers, who underwent induction, paralegal and security management courses, form the third cohort in a nationwide programme that has now trained 5,892 National Government Administration Officers (NGAOs). For decades, chiefs have served without structured professional training despite their central role in governance, dispute resolution, security coordination, and national cohesion.
President Ruto reaffirmed the government’s resolve to professionalise public administration, noting that the last formal training for NGAOs took place in 2016. He said the absence of continuous development had undermined administrative efficiency at the community level.
“We are committed to reforming and professionalising public administration to make it more efficient and citizen-focused,” the President said, applauding the officers’ dedication and their role in key national programmes such as the digitised farmer registry, which has captured over seven million farmers nationwide.
The renewed training programme follows extensive national consultations under the ‘Jukwaa La Usalama’ initiative, which brought together NGAOs, security agencies and citizens to identify gaps in service delivery and propose reforms.
Interior and National Administration Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, who spoke at the ceremony, said the stakeholder engagements informed targeted measures aimed at restoring morale, enhancing accountability and improving the operational capacity of frontline officers.
“This graduation ceremony stands as a strong affirmation of the Government’s deliberate and ongoing agenda to modernise, reposition and strengthen Kenya’s administrative framework,” he said, emphasising that empowered NGAOs are vital to implementing the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).
Murkomen described chiefs as multipurpose officers who connect policy to citizens, solve community challenges and promote unity at the grassroots.
The training forms part of reforms proposed in the Jukwaa La Usalama report, which is set to be officially launched on Tuesday at State House, Nairobi.
