Murkomen directs mandatory CCTV installation in all police stations
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has announced sweeping policy reforms within the National Police Service (NPS), including a new directive mandating the installation of closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems in all police stations nationwide.
In his State of the Nation address on Monday, June 16, 2025, the Cabinet Secretary stated that all 1,209 police stations in Kenya will be equipped with CCTV surveillance systems within the next two years as part of a broader drive to entrench transparency in law enforcement facilities.
“In the aspirational fulfillment of constitutional governance, I have today directed the implementation of the following policy reforms in the National Police Service. On CCTV, it shall be mandatory to equip stations with CCTV to enhance transparency,” Murkomen said.
He explained that the proposed installations are designed not only to record day-to-day operations within police stations but also to provide a reliable audit trail of law enforcement actions.
He revealed that the cameras will come with backup systems and will be placed under the direct management of the Officer Commanding Station (OCS), who will be held personally accountable for their functionality.
“The cameras shall be under the OCS, and he will make sure they are always functioning. In case of a problem, he must report within one hour. They shall also have back-up systems,” he said.
To strengthen this policy further, the government is preparing to introduce legislation in Parliament that will make it a criminal offence to interfere with or tamper with police station CCTV systems. “We shall be making a proposal to Parliament to make laws that criminalise tampering with CCTV cameras,” he said.
Murkomen clarified that although some police stations are already equipped with CCTV systems, those installations were undertaken at the discretion of individual stations and not as part of a coordinated national government initiative.
He emphasised that the current coverage is inadequate and lacks uniformity across the country. “It is important for Kenyans to note that the current stations that have CCTVs are not enough,” he stated, reinforcing the government’s resolve to standardise surveillance infrastructure nationwide through a centrally managed rollout.
