IN PICTURES: Kikuyu Police Station officers living in deplorable conditions

A senior Assistant Inspector General of Police Julius Kanampiu is now calling on political leaders and Constituency Development Fund committees to consider aiding police stations across the country improve the housing facilities of police officers.

Kanampiu, who spoke at the Kikuyu Police Station during community policing celebrations, lamented over the deplorable situation of the police housing further challenging the leadership to chip in.

Accommodation for police officers has for many years been a matter of public debate, one that has been included in various budgetary allocations by the government but still, thousands of officers and especially those in the lower ranks continue to reside in substandard facilities, with most of them having to share rooms, despite their family status.

At the Kikuyu Police Station, tens of them have to contend with these structures which from far show cracking walls, with patches of repair work betraying the years of neglect the houses have had to withstand.

For those not too lucky, they are forced to spend their resting time in these mabati structures, surrounded by unkempt vegetation, that puts their health at risk especially given the widespread breeding of mosquitoes.

These carton boxes serve as the ceiling for some of them.

The sanitation standards have been greatly compromised by the shanty-like bathrooms, with the privacy only assured by cloth curtains.

Despite all this, police officers at the Kikuyu Police Station have reason to celebrate. This as they marked their 4^th year of successful community policing, a programme that emphasizes on partnership between the police force and community members.

Kikuyu police station emerged top in the community policing programme at the just concluded Kenya Police Service awards.