Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen on December 30 dismissed rumors that planned multi-agency training centres in Kenya's North Rift—to combat banditry—mean relocating the Kiganjo Police Training College from Nyeri. He clarified the centres complement existing facilities, with Kiganjo set to become a campus of a new National Police University.
Following his December 25 announcement of training facilities for the National Police Service (NPS) and Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) in the Kerio Valley starting January 2026, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen on December 30, 2025, dismissed social media claims that this involved transferring the Kiganjo Police Training College to the North Rift region, such as Marakwet.
"We have plans to set up training schools in those areas. Actually, what we want is a situation where after completing training classes at the current training schools, we want them to move to these disturbed areas for further training to enhance their expertise and orient them to what actually happens on the ground," Murkomen said.
He added, "However, when I recently said that, someone started saying that I was meaning to close Kiganjo and take it to Marakwet. No, that is not what I meant."
The reforms shift police training toward field-based practical sessions in disturbed areas, supplementing town-based colleges: Kiganjo for regular officers, Embakasi A for Administration Police, Embakasi B for General Service Unit (GSU), and Magadi for field training.
Murkomen disclosed advanced preparations for a National Police University, with Kiganjo as one campus. Its charter will be granted by the President to support continuous training beyond the current 9-month basic course, as recommended by Kenyans during the Jukwaa la Usalama forums.
"There must be continuous training for them to enhance their operational mandate," he stated.
These efforts aim to professionalize security forces amid ongoing banditry challenges in the North Rift.
