NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 27 -President William Ruto is moving to give police a new look, but the planned change of uniform has raised a more uncomfortable question: why has the government been so quick to change what officers wear while dragging its feet on reforms meant to change how the police service operates?

📻 Breaking It Down

Ruto is expected to unveil the new Kenya Police Service uniform at the passing-out parade for recruits at the National Police Training College in Kiganjo on Friday, with General Duty officers scheduled to begin wearing it from August 31.

Inspector-General of Police Douglas Kanja has defended the change as part of efforts to improve the morale of officers and align their clothing with recommendations arising from a 2023 public participation exercise.

But the timing has invited scrutiny.The President’s planned appearance at Kiganjo comes days after former Chief Justice David Maraga’s seven-day deadline for the release of a long-awaited police reforms report expired without the document being made public.

📌 What You Need to Know

Maraga, who chaired the National Taskforce on Police Reforms, handed the report to President Ruto on November 16, 2023. On August 18, 2026, he demanded that the President publish the complete and unedited report within seven days, threatening to release it himself if the government failed to do so.

The contrast is striking: while a new uniform can be designed, procured and rolled out, the recommendations of a taskforce established specifically to examine the deeper problems afflicting Kenya’s security services remain the subject of a public standoff between the former Chief Justice and the President.

The Maraga taskforce was not established to discuss appearances. It was mandated to examine legal, policy, administrative, institutional and operational challenges affecting the National Police Service, Kenya Prisons Service and National Youth Service.

Its findings identified underfunding, corruption, leadership problems, weaknesses in human-resource management and structural challenges among the problems undermining the services.

The taskforce’s concerns were not merely about officers’ welfare. Its recommendations were aimed at improving accountability, strengthening institutions and addressing longstanding problems in the way the police service operates.

Maraga has now gone further, accusing the government of failing to implement recommendations necessary to restore the constitutional independence of the National Police Service and address systemic police brutality and impunity.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya