Police posts to be set up near universities, colleges: Murkomen

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has announced new measures to improve security in and around colleges and universities, including the establishment of police posts near learning institutions.

Speaking on Thursday during Jukwaa la Usalama forum in Nairobi , Murkomen said the move is aimed at addressing rising concerns about drug abuse, violence, and insecurity within campuses.

“At the sub-county level, student leaders and deans of students will be involved in security meetings to deliberate on how to improve security,” he said.

“We want them to have a direct relationship with the security teams so that when it comes to matters such as fighting drug abuse, they are working together.”

Murkomen added that students, who represent a growing population in urban areas, have often been neglected in security planning.

“There are all manner of things happening in our colleges and universities: drugs, insecurity, violence,” he noted.

The CS said the initiative is part of wider reforms aimed at strengthening the working relationship between police and local administrators.

Members of the public and other stakeholders will also be invited to monthly security meetings to help address emerging threats, noted Murkomen.

Just last month, National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) officials said they seized bhang worth an estimated Ksh.5 million in a sting operation targeting university student hostels in Homa Bay County.

Two suspects were arrested and NACADA said the operation is part of a wider national crackdown aimed at dismantling drug distribution networks operating in residential areas near universities.

NACADA confirmed that more raids are planned in identified hotspots across the country.

The bust followed the release of a NACADA report highlighting a growing drug abuse crisis within Kenyan universities.

According to the report, over 30% of university students admitted to using cannabis, while nearly 40% reported regular use of alcohol and tobacco.

The study said access to narcotics on or near campus premises has increased significantly in the past three years.