Murkomen scraps police rank interviews, introduces automatic promotions

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has introduced major reforms in the police service to address years of rank stagnation, promising automatic, merit-based promotions for long-serving officers.

The move is aimed at restoring morale and ensuring fairness in career progression for hundreds of officers who have remained in the same rank for years.

Speaking at the Jukwaa la Usalama forum in Kericho on Friday, Murkomen announced that all police constables aged 50 and above will be promoted on merit without having to wait until they turn 53.

“All the constables who are above 50 years will be promoted on merit automatically,” said Murkomen.

The directive also extends to corporals and sergeants who have held their ranks for more than 15 years, as well as inspectors who have not advanced in over a decade. Murkomen said the promotion process will no longer rely entirely on interviews but will instead be tied to mandatory training for all officers moved up.

“I like the proposal said here. You will all be promoted on merit, but take a course to develop capacity,” he said. “We will ensure that all of them are trained after promotion.”

Murkomen criticised the lack of a specific training budget for the police service, calling it a serious gap in building capacity.

“If there’s one public service department without a budget for training, it’s the police. We’ve said that must change,” he said.

The new training structure will begin with Officers Commanding Stations (OCSs) and commanders of specialised units, with a rollout plan covering the wider service.

The changes are part of a broader reform agenda to enhance efficiency, professionalism, and job satisfaction in the police force.

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