The National Police Service (NPS) has released a report detailing the ethnic distribution of police officers within the service.
On May 9, 2025, Inspector General Douglas Kanja presented this information to the Senate Committee on National Cohesion, Equal Opportunity, and Regional Integration.
According to the report, the Kalenjin community has the largest representation within the police force, with 20,834 officers.
The Kikuyu community follows in second place with 17,332 officers. Other significant groups include the Luhya community with 8,873 officers, the Luo community with 8,825 officers, and the Kamba community with 8,862 officers.
NPS Report Reveals Top Ethnic Groups in Police Work Force
Kisii community is ranked sixth, contributing 6,228 officers, followed by the Meru community with 5,873 officers, the Somali community with 4,270 officers, and the Maasai community with 2,490 officers.
Turkana is ranked tenth, with 1,743 officers, followed by the Embu community with 1,594 officers. Additional communities and their respective officer counts include the Giriama community with 1,461 officers, the Teso community with 1,397 officers, the Borana community with 1,341 officers, and the Taita community with 1,121 officers.
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Other smaller communities include the Digo (1,107 officers), Kuria (1,076 officers), Samburu (984 officers), Duruma (596 officers), and Pokomo (580 officers).
The distribution among other ethnic communities is as follows:
- Gabra: 542 officers
- Suba: 498 officers
- Tharaka: 487 officers
- Chonyi: 433 officers
- Mbeere: 432 officers
- Bajun: 397 officers
- Rabai: 371 officers
- Oromo: 329 officers
- Rendille: 271 officers
- Taveta: 250 officers
- Kauma: 208 officers
- Burji: 193 officers
- Njemps: 185 officers
- Kambe: 161 officers
- Nubi: 97 officers
- Jibana: 96 officers
- Ribe: 52 officers
- Terik: 30 officers
- Watta: 30 officers
- Elmolo: 23 officers
- Tachoni: 16 officers
- Swahili: 14 officers
- Makonde: 4 officers
- Dorobo: 3 officers
- Indian: 2 officers
- Ongiek: 0 officers
- Mzungu: 0 officers
IG Kanja Declines to Comment Why One Ethnic Community Dominates Police Work Force
During the Senate Committee session, when asked about the dominance of one ethnic group in the police workforce, Inspector General Kanja declined to comment, citing national security concerns.
This report was released at a time the NPS is set to announce new recruitment opportunities, which had been on hold for three years.
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Kanja announced that future recruitment would shift to an online system aimed at reducing corruption and improving the shortlisting process.
Under this new system, candidates will submit their applications online, and only those who are shortlisted will proceed to the field for further evaluation. This shift is expected to help manage the overwhelming numbers of applicants during the recruitment process.
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