A high-powered security delegation led by Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the Kenya Police Service, Eliud Lagat, and his Administration Police Service counterpart, Gilbert Masengeli, has concluded a multi-agency security assessment tour in Mandera and Wajir counties amid escalating security concerns in northeastern Kenya.

The mission, which included on-the-ground evaluations, intelligence briefings, and inter-agency coordination meetings, comes against a backdrop of heightened threats from terrorism, organized crime, and cross-border criminal networks.

In Mandera, the DIGs met with Governor Mohamed Adan Khalif, who outlined urgent security challenges, including intercommunal violence, the destruction of communication infrastructure, and the persistent risk of improvised explosive device (IED) attacks along key road corridors.

“These are not just operational issues; these are threats that are stifling the region’s development and putting civilian lives at constant risk,” read a statement posted on the police X account on Sunday, August 10, 2025.

DIG Lagat assured county leaders of the National Police Service’s commitment to respond decisively.

“We are reviewing deployment structures, enhancing support, and reinforcing our presence in high-risk zones,” he said.

At Mandera County Police Headquarters, the top officers chaired a closed-door security briefing focused on the porous Kenya–Somalia border and threats posed by Al-Shabaab, arms trafficking, and cross-border incursions.

The DIGs also met frontline personnel from the KPS, Border Police Unit, Rapid Deployment Unit (RDU), General Service Unit (GSU), and National Police Reservists (NPR). DIG Masengeli urged officers to break down information silos and prioritize intelligence sharing.

“We must work as one force against enemies that are adapting every day,” he emphasized.

In Wajir, contraband smuggling, inter-community disputes, and human trafficking dominated a separate security review with local commanders. DIG Lagat warned against allowing criminal networks to exploit policing and logistical gaps.

Meanwhile, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has announced that the government will operationalize several dormant administrative units some gazetted nearly a decade ago—in the 2025/2026 financial year.

Speaking during the Jukwaa la Usalama programme in Bomet County on August 8, the CS revealed that budget constraints have delayed activation of the units and left some newly hired chiefs unpaid for up to two years.

“The more you subdivide a location, the more money you need to run it. That is why some have been delayed,” Murkomen explained.

He added that the process would begin next week on a first-in, first-out basis, with the aim of strengthening governance and service delivery across the country.