Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen responds to questions before the Senate on September 16, 2026. /MINA
Police stations and security posts in Marsabit and Turkana counties are below the standards required for effective service delivery, the government has admitted.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said the state of infrastructure in several stations and security posts in the two counties was inadequate, citing resource constraints that have slowed rehabilitation and upgrading works.
Murkomen made the revelation when he appeared before the Senate on Wednesday to respond to questions from senators, including concerns over the closure of the Kurkum Administration Police camp in Marsabit and the state of police housing, offices and operational facilities in Marsabit and Turkana.
“The current state of infrastructure in several police stations and security posts in Marsabit and Turkana counties falls below the desired standards for effective service delivery and optimal working conditions for police officers,” Murkomen said.
The CS said the ministry was engaging relevant stakeholders and would seek additional budgetary allocations to rehabilitate, upgrade and construct police infrastructure in the affected areas.
The disclosure comes against the backdrop of changes to the way police infrastructure is funded.
Murkomen said the National Police Service (NPS) stopped receiving direct allocations from the National Treasury for police housing and infrastructure in September 2018, after responsibility for the facilities was transferred to the State Department for Housing and Urban Development.
He said resource constraints had limited the pace of infrastructure improvements, particularly in underserved and security-sensitive areas.
The government has, however, completed a modern office block at Laisamis police station, which is already in use.
Construction is also underway on a residential block comprising 12 Type E housing units at the station.
But no funds were allocated in the 2025/26 financial year for rehabilitation or development works, including at Illeret police post, according to Murkomen.
The CS also addressed the closure of the Kurkum AP camp, which was shut in 2018 during a restructuring of the National Police Service.
He said ward-level AP camps were consolidated, with officers moved to subcounty headquarters as part of efforts to improve operational effectiveness.
However, the government did not rule out reopening the camp. Murkomen said its re-establishment could be considered after the recruitment and training of additional police officers, who would then be deployed according to prevailing security needs.
Murkomen said the ministry remains committed to strengthening security infrastructure in Marsabit and Turkana, but acknowledged that funding limitations continued to affect the pace of improvements.
The CS urged lawmakers representing affected areas to consider prioritising improvements to police stations, security posts and related facilities where permitted by law.
“The ministry continues to face resource constraints that limit the pace at which critical infrastructural upgrades can be undertaken,” he said.
The disclosure is particularly concerning considering Marsabit and Turkana are border counties where police infrastructure is linked to the government’s ability to maintain security across vast and volatile remote areas.
