Emerging Diversity in Security Practices in Kenya’s Devolved Constitution

In general, county policing authorities are “a way for the community to get involved in policing at the local level”.
There is a clear separation of powers between security services and local politics, according to the constitution: governors are not to manage law and order. The problem comes with the history of an uneven security presence across Kenya – meaning that, in fact, it is next to impossible for governors to ignore the security concerns of their local residents. Alongside advocacy for constitutional reform that would give them greater say over security provision, therefore, governors are active in the politics surrounding local security provision. On the one hand, this tends to bruise relations with county commissioners and the central government, because governors easily politicise matters and can often be in support of particular ethnic communities at the expense of others. On the other hand, however, the new situation is forcing security services at least to acknowledge local diversities and the value of more community-inclusive law and order strategies.