Police recruits follow proceedings during the official opening of their training course at the National Police College – Main Campus Kiganjo in Nyeri County, on December 16, 2025.
The Ministry of Interior and National Administration has embarked on a Sh20 billion plan to expand the National Integrated Security Command and Control Centre (code named IC4), alongside other reforms aimed at enhancing the police's ability to handle the 2027 general elections.
Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo informed the National Assembly's National Administration and Internal Security Committee that the police modernisation programme will enhance surveillance, emergency response, and crowd control capabilities of police officers ahead of the elections.
The plan is expected to be completed by June next year, just two months before the elections. It is part of ongoing efforts to ensure that the security sector is prepared for any eventuality.
Internal Security and National Administration Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo.
Appearing before the parliamentary committee during scrutiny of the 2026/27 budget estimates, Dr Omollo told the lawmakers, that the upgraded IC4 system would expand the existing surveillance infrastructure beyond Nairobi and Mombasa to Kisumu, Eldoret, Nakuru and Nyeri.
In the new plan, there will be an integrated advanced analytics, digital occurrence books (OB), and the government administration officers’ system linking chiefs and local administrators into a single national security architecture.
“The project cost estimate is about Sh20 billion and we expect implementation to be completed within one year so that by June next year, ahead of the elections, it will be fully operational,” Dr. Omollo told the lawmakers.
Dr Omollo explained that the Sh20 billion will help in upgrading and replacing the IC3 project which was launched around 2013 which has since expired.
Speaking before the same committee, Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja said the service is ready to guarantee Kenyans peaceful elections.
“We are set and ready to prepare because we have done it before. We did it during the 2022 elections and the outcomes are there. We are going to do it again in 2027,” Mr Kanja told the committee.
National security
The inspector-general told the lawmakers that elections are central to Kenya’s democracy and that the police service has a constitutional duty to create a secure environment for citizens to exercise their democratic rights peacefully.
“Training is very important. We need all our officers prepared on matters of elections, including public order management. Support from this committee will go a long way in helping us enhance our preparedness,” Mr Kanja said.
Mr Kanja told the committee that the new IC4 system which the police service expects to be ready by June next year will ease police work as it deals with those planning to cause chaos.
“The adoption of technology in policing, including body cameras, will provide evidential value and can also exonerate officers when falsely accused,” Mr Kanja said.
The disclosure came as lawmakers raised concerns over transparency, audit queries and rising expenditure amid tightening fiscal constraints.
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Loima MP Protus Akuja questioned the lack of detailed disclosure on procurement, implementation timelines and future financial obligations tied to the IC4 upgrade.
“We wish to have full disclosure of the total project cost, procurement details, implementation timelines and anticipated future funding obligations to ensure transparency and avoid cost overruns,” said Mr Akuja.
Dr Omollo told the lawmakers that some of the grounded helicopters at the police airwing are part of the ministry’s modernisation plan ahead of the 2027 polls.
“I wish to confirm that helicopters are part of the modernisation plan. We also intend to repair one helicopter to support police operations,” Dr Omollo said.
The new helicopter belonging to the National Police Service hovers around the Kenya Police Air Wing (KPAW) hangar on April 27, 2016.
According to the PS, the modernisation programme will also cover acquisition of crowd-control equipment, drones, vehicles and ammunition to strengthen policing capacity during heightened political activity.
Dr Omollo appealed to the committee to grant its request for an additional Sh22.8 billion despite a reduction of their recurrent expenditure from Sh48.2 billion in the current financial year to Sh45.7 billion in 2026/27.
Dr Omollo admitted the cuts would affect police operations as it prepares for the 2027 polls.
“The reduction in recurrent expenditure will definitely affect operations both within the agencies under the State Department and the department itself,” he said.
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