Matiang’i Proposes Academic Qualifications for Police Recruits Raised from D+

Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i wants the minimum academic qualification for police recruits raised.

Currently, individuals are required to have a minimum grade of D+ (plus) in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination to qualify for recruitment into the police service. 

CS Matiang’i says the grade is too low for persons who are supposed to solve complex criminal cases, adding that police graduates are finding it hard to match sophisticated criminals.

"This is why I have been fighting that we look at the cutoff point of the people we are admitting. Surely if we are admitting you with a D plus and we are telling you to go to the complex science of analyzing blood and preparing documents that the DPP will use in court to prove murder, are we serious honestly? Are we serious?" Matiang'i posed.

He continued: "That is why I am saying there are many things we can do. The time is here for us to face reality and to know that we are facing challenges that we must confront in a serious manner. We need to start new capacities in law enforcement so that when I give you a file you don't say we have no competencies." 

Speaking on Friday during the graduation ceremony for 46 prosecutors at the Prosecutor Training Institute in Loresho, Nairobi, Matiang’i insisted that the current crop of police officers lack capability to handle complex cases.

"Let me be frank, and I am not besmirching you my brother, the capacities we need are not there because we cannot hope that the constables we have trained here in Kiganjo are the ones who are going to deal with the complexities we are discussing to help the DPP deal with a rape case," he said.