Former Chief Justice David Maraga on Monday released a long-awaited taskforce report calling for sweeping reforms of Kenya's police, prisons and National Youth Service, warning that decades of efforts to transform the country's security institutions have been undermined by corruption, political interference, weak leadership and chronic underfunding.
The 583-page report by the National Taskforce on Improvement of the Terms and Conditions of Service and Other Reforms for members of the National Police Service (NPS), Kenya Prisons Service (KPS) and National Youth Service (NYS) was made public on Monday after years of uncertainty over its implementation.
The taskforce was established by President William Ruto on December 21, 2022, and submitted its report to him on November 16, 2023.
Its mandate was to examine the legal, policy, administrative, institutional and operational barriers affecting the three services and recommend reforms to improve welfare, accountability and service delivery.
Maraga recently publicly challenged the government to release the report, arguing that Kenyans had a right to access a document prepared using public resources.
The report says the taskforce conducted an extensive review of previous reform efforts, gathered views from the public through hearings, and received memoranda from citizens and stakeholders in the security and justice sectors.
It found that endemic corruption, incompetence and chronic underfunding had contributed to institutional lethargy and poor service delivery, prompting a raft of recommendations aimed at addressing the challenges.
According to the report, institutional and cultural failures have continued to frustrate transformation within the three services for decades.
It identifies corruption, land grabbing, sexual harassment, inhuman treatment, injustice, poor leadership, resistance to learning and political interference as among the factors weakening professionalism and public confidence.
“Institutional and cultural failures that have frustrated transformation in the three disciplined Services for decades range from endemic corruption and land grabbing to sexual harassment, inhuman treatment, and outright injustice; indolence and aversion to learning; as well as political meddling all resulting in loss of public confidence in the three institutions.” The report read.
The report's findings come against the background of more than two decades of attempts to reform Kenya's policing system.
Major momentum for reform followed the violence surrounding the 2007-08 election, after the Commission of Inquiry into Post-Election Violence examined the role and conduct of security agencies. The subsequent reform agenda contributed to the establishment of a new constitutional and legal framework, including the transformation of the Kenya Police Force into the National Police Service under the 2010 Constitution.
Article 244 of the Constitution requires the National Police Service to maintain professionalism and discipline, prevent corruption, promote accountability and comply with constitutional standards on human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The Constitution also provides for the Inspector-General to exercise independent command over the service.
However, Maraga's taskforce says previous reforms have failed to deliver the transformation expected.
“Over the past 15 years, desperate efforts have been made to reform the National Police Service in particular,” the report says, noting that constitutional changes, legislation, regulations and civilian oversight mechanisms had not produced the desired results.
“None of these has yielded the desired result. Instead, every year, the National Police Service is routinely ranked as the most corrupt institution in the country without any sanctions, thus breeding a culture of impunity, which has spread to the other uniformed Services.”
The Kenya Prisons Service also receives significant attention, with the report tracing persistent challenges back decades. It notes that earlier reforms sought to improve prison conditions and the welfare of officers and inmates, but many problems remained unresolved.
The report recalls the 2008 nationwide strike by prison officers, which was driven by grievances including poor working and living conditions, unpaid allowances and demands for improved terms of service.
Among the taskforce's major recommendations is the establishment of a Security and Disciplined Services Sector bringing together the Kenya Defence Forces, National Intelligence Service, National Police Service, Kenya Prisons Service and National Youth Service.
“Not only will this harmonise the welfare as well as the terms and conditions of service of officers in the sector, but will also, hopefully, end the grumbling in some Services over preferential treatment of others.”
The taskforce also recommends reforms covering remuneration, housing, medical care, mental-health support, recruitment, training, career progression, equipment, technology and accountability.
But Maraga warns that implementation will determine whether the latest reform effort produces meaningful change.
“One of the most remarkable observations from the field visits was the public skepticism about whether the Taskforce’s Report and recommendations will ever be implemented or make any difference.”
He acknowledges that transforming the three institutions will take time, but argues that immediate reforms could begin reversing years of institutional decline.
“Transforming the three Services will not happen overnight: there are no quick fixes, but there are quick wins which, if secured immediately, can begin to deliver change.”
The release of the report now places renewed attention on whether Kenya's latest blueprint for security-sector reform will succeed where earlier initiatives have struggled to produce lasting change.