General duty police officers will begin wearing new uniforms from Monday, August 31, replacing the navy-blue attire currently in use, Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja has announced.
President William Ruto is expected to officially unveil the new uniform on Friday, August 28, during the passing-out parade of more than 6,000 police constables who have completed their training at the Kenya Police Training College in Kiganjo.
Kanja confirmed that the new attire will be introduced to general duty officers from August 31, following recommendations made during a public participation exercise conducted in 2023.
"On Friday God willing, the Head of State will be commission new uniforms for the Kenya Police Service (KPS) so that we will have a national roll out of the same in the coming weeks," Kanja stated.
The police chief explained that officers who participated in the exercise had expressed a preference for a different design, prompting the National Police Service to revert to an outfit that had previously been approved.
"We have been using the blue, the deep blue, so we are just reverting back to the one that was agreed upon," he added.
The new uniforms will first be worn by the graduating constables before being progressively rolled out to other general duty officers across the country in the coming weeks.
Kanja said the change was intended to boost officers' morale and improve service delivery.
"This is also going to be a force multiplier in terms of morale boosting for our officers, especially the new recruits," the IG said.
The transition will not immediately cover all units within the National Police Service. Officers serving under the Administration Police Service and General Service Unit will retain their current uniforms as the new attire is introduced among general duty officers.
The move comes three years after the 2023 public participation exercise, during which police officers were consulted on the uniform they preferred for carrying out their duties.
