Police officers in Kenya play a crucial role of providing security and maintaining law and order among the citizens.
The officers in the country have always been seen as a unit which composes workers from the diverse communities in the country.
However just several tribes have been more prominent when it comes to serving in the law enforcement profession.
In this article, Times Digital Kenya explores the major tribes that make the majority of police officers in Kenya.
How many police officers are there in Kenya?
The police officers are under the National police service (NPS) which comprises a total of 3 services.
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These services under the NPS include the Kenya police service, Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Administration police service.
So what’s the total number of police officers in Kenya?
According to the most recent report, there are at least 106,830 police officers in Kenya. Among the 106,830, women officers are around 17457 (that is 16% of the total number of police officers in Kenya)
“Currently, the Service has 106,830 members, of which 89,373 are male and 17,457 female. Males represent 84 per cent and females 16 per cent respectively,”
as quoted by The Star.
As per the article, the Kenya police service makes up the majority of the NPS with 74251 officers, followed by Administration police Service and Directorate of Criminal investigations which have 26409 & 6170 officers respectively.
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Kenyan communities/tribes with the majority police officers
Local news outlet, The People’s Daily reports that the 6 major tribes in Kenya make up the majority of officers in the NPS.
As per the report, the Kalenjin community makes up 19,337 members, Kikuyu 18,004, and Kamba 9,808 in the police service. The Luhya and Meru communities have 9,752 and 7,121 members respectively, while the Kisii community has 6,517.
Here is a table showing the tribes that dominate the National police service in Kenya
| Kalenjin | 19337 members |
| Kikuyu | 18004 members |
| Kamba | 9808 members |
| Luhya | 9752 members |
| Meru | 7121 members |
| Kisii | 6517 members |
The other 10 ethnic communities that follow closely include:
- Gabra: 542 officers
- Suba: 498 officers
- Tharaka: 487 officers
- Chonyi: 433 officers
- Mbeere: 432 officers
- Bajun: 397 officers
- Rabai: 371 officers
- Oromo: 329 officers
- Rendille: 271 officers
- Taveta: 250 officers
