A new assessment has revealed that many remote and insecure parts of the country are still without active administrative units, with Samburu, Turkana and Baringo among the worst affected, as delays in government funding continue to stall their full rollout.
The findings are contained in the Jukwaa la Usalama report, which shows that the government’s plan to make all gazetted units operational has slowed because of budget gaps.
The assessment notes that thousands of residents in regions with a history of conflict continue to miss out on key public services that should be delivered through these offices.
The report, released last week, states that the Ministry of Interior and National Administration is in the process of seeking more funds to activate the remaining units, giving first priority to areas that face repeated security threats.
It also points out that although the State had earlier pledged to fully operationalise all gazetted units within the 2024/2025 financial year, that goal has not been achieved because of insufficient funding.
According to the assessment, critical steps such as recruiting officers, building administrative offices and supplying the infrastructure needed to run the units have been slowed down.
“The operationalisation of gazetted administrative units has encountered budgetary delays, impacting full deployment,” reads the report.
Because of these delays, the country still has 15 sub-counties, 379 divisions, 1,366 locations and 2,808 sub-locations that remain inactive years after they were gazetted.
This situation has created gaps in service delivery, where citizens cannot easily access civil registration, local administration support or assistance with dispute resolution.
The National Police Service is among the departments most affected.
The report shows that 110 sub-counties and 741 police stations still lack Authority to Incur Expenditure, limiting their ability to fuel vehicles, purchase supplies or run day-to-day operations.
The slow rollout has weakened police presence in rural and hard-to-reach areas, making it difficult to respond swiftly when emergencies occur.
Senior officials cited in the report say the programme to operationalise the units had been included in the 2024/2025 budget cycle, but Treasury constraints and other pressing national needs left the plan underfunded.
Counties with vast landscapes and poor road networks—especially Samburu, Turkana, Baringo and other parts of the North Rift—continue to face the biggest challenges.
In many places, pastoralist communities must travel long distances to reach chiefs, assistant chiefs or police stations, leaving them exposed during security incidents.
The release of the report comes three weeks after President William Ruto announced the creation of three new sub-counties in Samburu to improve security coordination in the region.
The new units include Nyiro in Samburu North, Waso in Samburu East and Loosuk in Samburu West, all of which had already been gazetted.
“We have resolved to create new administrative units here in Waso and Nyiro to bring services closer to pastoralists,” Ruto said.
In August, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen also outlined the government’s plan to set up more police stations in parts of Samburu affected by bandit attacks and cattle rustling.
Some of the gazetted units still not operational include Ilret in Marsabit, Engineer in Nyandarua, Baringo West headquartered in Barwesa, Tiaty Central, Chemolingot and Sericho in Oldonyiro, Isiolo.
