1,206 officers dead, 4,569 gone from Police Service since 2022
Kanja revealed that 1,206 officers have died, 326 resigned, and 289 have been dismissed during this period.
Over 4,500 police officers have exited the National Police Service since the last recruitment exercise in 2022, Inspector-General Douglas Kanja told Members of Parliament on Tuesday.
Appearing before the National Assembly Internal Security Committee at Parliament buildings in Nairobi, Kanja revealed that 1,206 officers have died, 326 resigned, and 289 have been dismissed during this period.
In addition, 2,563 went on mandatory retirement, 95 retired under the 12–20 years rule, and 58 officers retired after attaining the age of 50.
He added that 30 officers were removed from office in the public interest, while two others left the service for medical reasons.
In total, 4,569 officers left the police service, with more than half coming from the Kenya Police Service.
The National Police Service comprises the Kenya Police Service, Administration Police, and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.
Kanja warned that the high attrition rate is affecting the police service's ability to maintain security across the country.
"The attrition of 4,569 officers from NPS since the last recruitment exercise in 2022 has significant implications for staffing levels, operational capacity, and strategic planning within the service," he told the committee.
He said the exits have created an imbalance in the rank structure, overburdened officers, and strained the service’s capacity to handle emergencies, investigations, and regular patrols.
The suspension of police recruitment over the past three years has worsened the police-to-civilian ratio, which declined from 1:479 in 2023 to 1:512 in 2024, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) Economic Survey 2025 released this week.
The report shows that the total number of police officers, including both the Kenya Police and Administration Police, fell by 3.6% to 104,080 in 2024, down from 108,013 the previous year.
This decline follows a steady rise in personnel over previous years: 100,481 in 2020, 101,421 in 2021, and a peak of 109,857 in 2022, before the numbers began to drop.
Last month, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen announced plans to recruit 10,000 new police officers within the next two to three months.
The recruitment aims to address officer shortages and boost security in areas affected by rising insecurity.
"On the issue of police numbers, we are planning to recruit 10,000 officers within the next two to three months to ensure that police stations are adequately staffed," Murkomen said.
On Friday, Inspector-General of Police Douglas Kanja reaffirmed this plan, telling MPs that a digital recruitment system will be used for the upcoming intake to close loopholes that have long enabled corruption in manual recruitment exercises.
"The number of applicants during recruitments is overwhelming, and fraud has been a recurring issue. This must stop. Leveraging technology is the way to eliminate these gaps," he said.
The National Police Service (NPS) aims to recruit at least 25,000 officers over the next five years to address the staffing gap caused by the 2023 recruitment freeze due to budget constraints.
