Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has announced plans to equip all 1,200 police stations across the country with CCTV surveillance and digital occurrence books (OBs) by the end of 2026.
Murkomen said the digital transformation is part of wider reforms within the National Police Service aimed at enhancing accountability, improving crime reporting and making it easier for officers to coordinate responses to security incidents.
Speaking on Friday, August 28, 2026, during the passing-out parade for police recruits at the Kenya Police Service Training College in Kiganjo, Nyeri County, Murkomen said the government was investing heavily in technology to modernise policing.
He pointed to the digitisation of police clearance certificates as one of the reforms that had already delivered tangible benefits to the public.
According to the CS, Kenyans who previously waited for weeks or months to obtain the documents can now receive them almost immediately.
“The police certificate clearance certificate that Kenyans were waiting for for two months, three months – you can be able to get it instantly, and even if there is a delay, within a day,” Murkomen said.
The Cabinet secretary also announced that the National Police Service was implementing an Integrated Command and Control Centre and Communication Centre, with the programme expected to be substantially rolled out before the end of the year.
“We are, Your Excellency, now implementing the Integrated Command and Control Center and Communication Center, a programme that we are going to be able to roll out by the end of this year,” he said.
The new system is expected to link police stations through digital platforms, allowing officers to share information and coordinate their response to incidents more efficiently.
CCTV installation across the 1,200 police stations will form another major part of the initiative.
Murkomen said the surveillance equipment would help provide greater visibility into activities taking place inside police stations, particularly in cases involving arrested persons.
The CS said the move would create a digital trail that could help establish what happens to suspects after they are taken into police custody, while also strengthening accountability when complaints are made against officers.
“There has been a phenomenon, Your Excellency, that Kenyans have witnessed, where sometimes persons who have been arrested are found to face challenges within the police station, and the installation of CCTV cameras in all the 1,200 police stations is going to become a game changer,” Murkomen said.
The digital reforms are expected to form part of the broader government effort to modernise policing and improve the delivery of security services to Kenyans.
