Residents of Noonkopir village in Kitengela, Kajiado East Sub County, are expressing outrage over escalating insecurity issues despite the presence of a recently commissioned police post in the area. The police post, which has been in existence for eight years, was constructed in 2015 through the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) in collaboration with locals, but it has remained nonfunctional.
Distressed residents report that incidents of theft, mugging, robbery, and rape have become rampant in their populous estate. Although the police post received an additional Ksh 5 million NG-CDF allocation for renovation and expansion, it remains non-operational. The current leadership’s decision to allocate more funds for the renovation of the unused police post, only to commission it without deploying any police officers, has angered the locals.
Residents claim the renovation work was substandard, involving only superficial improvements like painting the existing block and staff quarters. A spot check revealed the police post as a deserted structure with open dangerous septic tanks, no fence, inadequate staff quarters without pit latrines, poor ventilation, and no electricity connection. The post has also been vandalized, with some gutters missing.
The locals allege that the project has become a cash cow for rogue public servants misusing taxpayers’ money and demand transparency and accountability regarding the funds used. They have issued a notice of demonstrations against what they call a “white elephant” project.
Isinya Sub County Police Commander Patrick Manyasi acknowledged that while the police post has been commissioned, it is not habitable for police officers. Kajiado East MP Kakuta Mai Mai admitted observing low-standard construction work during the commissioning and ordered the contractor to redo the project. However, the lawmaker did not explain why he proceeded with the commissioning despite noticing the issues, nor did he confirm whether the contractor had been paid.
