From July 1 this financial year, each of the 110,000 village elders across the country will be taking home a monthly stipend after the government allocated Sh3.96 billion as it seeks to recognise the services and bolster the National Government Administration unit.
This is despite fears that the bolstering of the National Government Coordination Officers (NGAO), who include the village elders, undermines the constitution.
Nonetheless, the allocation as revealed by Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo at a meeting with the National Assembly Committee on Administration and Internal Security means that each village elder will be paid a monthly stipend of Sh3,000.
“The village elders have supported the chiefs in executing their mandate, but for free. We have recognised them by ensuring that every month they take home a stipend of Sh3,000,” said Dr Omollo, with members led by Committee chairperson Gabriel Tongoyo (Narok West) demanding that the amount be enhanced.
“The Sh3,000 you are proposing is very low. Why not start with an enhanced amount of Sh5,000 every month? It is reasonable that way,” proposed Mr Tongoyo.
But even as the PS made the announcement, a section of the members of the House committee, led by Teso North MP Oku Kaunya, raised concerns about how the plan would be implemented without policy guidelines in place.
“What policy guidelines have you put in place for the utilization of the village elders' pay?” posed Mr Kaunya, with the PS reminding him that the Ministry of Interior and National Coordination came up with a policy, which is lying on the shelves of the National Assembly.
“The policy is there and is in parliament. We need it to be passed,” said PS Omollo.
The coming into force of the current constitution on August 27, 2010, signalled the end of the then provincial administration.
But 15 years since the promulgation of the constitution, what looked like a subdued provincial administration has grown even bigger with enhanced roles amid fears that it is undermining devolution.
Under the current constitution, the National Government Coordination Act was enacted to provide for service delivery coordination units, which has since seen the number of NGAOs soar.
The 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census shows that there are 2,427 locations manned by Chiefs and 6,612 sub-locations headed by Assistant Chiefs.
However, the locations have since increased to 2,735, with sub-locations also increasing to about 7000.
This has given rise to 110,000 village elders, 9,144 assistant chiefs and 4,008 chiefs across the country, reporting directly to the national government.
Determined to bolster NGAO, PS Omollo pleaded with the MPs to fast-track the adoption of the National Government Village Administration Policy, which renames the village elders as Village Administration Elders.
The policy seeks to recognize and onboard the elders into the national government administration structure and facilitate them for efficient streamlining of service delivery down at the villages ahead of the 2027 general election.
The policy proposes to integrate the elders into the national government administrative units, effectively granting them legal authority, clear responsibilities and financial clout.
The constitution mandated the national government to restructure the provincial administration to focus on service provision, downward accountability and advance public interest rather than self or regime interests.
In doing so, the national government was required to ensure that it stays above inter and intra-governmental conflicts so as to protect the interests of devolution.
Article 189 of the constitution states how the national and county governments shall relate in terms of cooperative governance.
“A government at either level shall perform its functions, and exercise its powers in a manner that respects the functional and institutional integrity of government at the other level and respects the constitutional status and institutions of government at the other level,” the article states.
But the increased numbers of NGAOs from the locational level downwards show a government determined to ensure its presence is felt, a policy direction that has been blamed by legal and governance experts for duplication of roles and wastage of public resources.
This, as immediate former Attorney-General Justin Muturi, who also served as Speaker of the National Assembly in the 11th and 12th parliaments, warned that the government is keen to give chiefs, their assistants and village elders “enhanced and sweeping powers over the operations of the police service.”
This is notwithstanding that the command and deployment of the police is reserved for the Inspector-General of Police.
“Command over the police service, under the constitution, is a preserve of the authority of the Inspector-General of Police. It is not shared. Anything that gives somebody else command over the police is unconstitutional,” said Mr Muturi.
Chiefs and assistant chiefs from Nakuru County attend a sensitization forum on Revised National Registration Guidelines at Rift Valley National Polytechnic in Nakuru on April 9, 2026.
Photo credit: Boniface Mwangi | Nation Media Group
Command is defined as an order, imperative direction, or behest to direct with authority, power to dominate and control.
The police service, just like any other national security organ, is subordinate to civilian authority.
With the repeal of the Chiefs Act that allowed the Chiefs and their assistants to be appointed by the Public Service Commission (PSC), the power to issue orders and to maintain order in their respective areas came with the National Government Coordination (NGC) Act.
The NGC Act established an administrative and institutional framework for the coordination of national government functions at the national and county levels of governance.
The law assigns the Chief the power to head a location and an assistant chief, a sub-location.
The policy has provisions for training, oversight and logistical support for the Village Administration Elders.
To qualify for appointment as village elder, the policy states, one must be a citizen of Kenya of sound mind, have knowledge about the village, culture and residents, have integrity, be in good standing in the community and must be a resident of their respective village for at least five years.
It also seeks to have formal mapping and gazettement of villages undertaken, as well as the introduction of eligibility requirements for the elders and the assignment of defined responsibilities that include maintaining local incident registers, promoting peace and coordinating with government institutions.
