President William Ruto’s aide, Dennis Itumbi, has dismissed claims that the Head of State met with top security officials in Mombasa to discuss stalled police recruitment.
A local daily reported that Ruto held a closed-door meeting with security chiefs to address the delay in recruiting 10,000 police officers. The report linked the meeting to budget cuts and the president’s order that 4,000 recruits come from the National Youth Service (NYS).
Itumbi, however, termed the story fake news. He said the president was not in Mombasa on the reported date.
“Wacheni uwongo, fabrications and fake news. The President was not in Mombasa on Friday; some facts are so easy to verify!” he stated.
Ruto had visited the coastal county a day earlier, on Thursday, where he opened the 2025 Mombasa A.S.K. International Show.
The controversy comes as the recruitment plan faces hurdles. Parliament recently flagged a Sh320 million budget cut that has thrown the exercise into doubt.
Despite the setback, the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) and the National Police Service (NPS) have pledged to work together after weeks of disputes.
Following a five-hour meeting in Mombasa, NPSC chair Amani Komora and Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja promised to cooperate and respect each other’s mandates.
The government is still expected to push ahead with the recruitment drive, which is seen as vital to strengthening Kenya’s security services.
