Kenya’s general-duty police officers will begin wearing new uniforms next week, ending an eight-year run for the deep navy-blue attire currently used by the service.
Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja said the new uniforms will be unveiled by President William Ruto on Friday, August 28, during the passing-out parade of more than 6,000 police constables at the Kenya Police Training College in Kiganjo.
The graduating recruits will be the first officers to wear the new design. The wider roll-out to general-duty officers will begin on Monday, August 31, and continue in stages across the country.
“We have been using the blue, the deep blue one, so we have just reverted back to the one that was agreed upon,” Kanja said.
New Uniform to Debut at Kiganjo
The change follows a public participation exercise conducted in 2023, when the National Police Service sought views from officers and members of the public on proposed uniform designs.
The design selected through that process features a light-blue shirt with navy trousers. It also carries the Kenya Police emblem and the Kenyan flag.
An integrated name tag is also part of the design. The feature is intended to make it more difficult for officers to remove their identification while on duty.
Kanja said the return to the approved design was expected to improve morale, particularly among newly trained recruits.
“This is also going to be a force multiplier in terms of morale boosting for our officers, especially the new recruits,” he said.
Not All Police Units Will Change
The new uniform will not be introduced across the entire National Police Service at the same time.
Officers serving in the Administration Police Service and the General Service Unit will retain their current uniforms as the new attire is introduced to general-duty officers.
The change is a reversal of the move made in 2018, when the government adopted the deep-blue uniform for general-duty police officers.
The National Police Service began consultations on a new design in 2023. The exercise followed concerns over the process through which the previous uniform had been introduced.
Nationwide Roll-out to Begin Monday
The roll-out comes three years after the public participation exercise.
The first recruits graduating from Kiganjo on Friday will offer the first major public view of the new uniform. Their deployment will be followed by a gradual transition among general-duty officers across the country.
For Kenyans, the change will become more noticeable from Monday, when officers begin appearing on the streets in the new light-blue and navy design.
The move will leave the familiar deep-blue uniform behind, at least for general-duty officers, as the National Police Service begins a new chapter in its dress and identification standards.
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