This archive report was first published on 5 June 2020.
Kenya's Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho has revealed plans to revamp the National Police Service's recruitment standards, aiming to increase the minimum grades for entry.
According to Kibicho, the current system, where individuals with D+ grades and above in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams are targeted, is no longer acceptable.
Speaking in an interview on Thursday, Kibicho emphasized the need for change, stating, "Modalities have already been put in place to change this trend. We must change the service from being the place where parents take their children who have failed in national examinations."
As part of the proposed changes, Kibicho announced that half of the 10,000 recruits in the next recruitment exercise will be university graduates, a significant shift from the current system.
He also acknowledged that low educational standards among recruits could be a contributing factor to police involvement in extra-judicial killings, extortion, bribery, and poor relationships with the public.
Published on June 5, 2020, Kibicho's statement comes as the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji disclosed that there have been at least 80 reported cases of police brutality since the imposition of the dusk-to-dawn curfew.
