President William Ruto has said his administration has liberated the police service from political and bureaucratic control.
He said it was possible by relocating the police budget from the office of the President to the office of the Inspector General.
President Ruto spoke in Embakasi for the 58th Administration Police Passing out Parade on Wednesday.
"Without autonomy, the police service is vulnerable to weaponisation making it a threat instead of an asset to challenges in our security and law and order sectors," he said.
Ruto said they have also sustained the commitment to escalate the police-to-citizen ratio.
"We did this by recruiting and training more police women and men continuously to ensure that Kenyans have access to responsive and effective police protection throughout the country," he said.
In September 2022, former Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani officially designated the Inspector General of Police as the Accounting Officer of the National Police Service.
This was following an order given by President Ruto.
In his inaugural speech after being sworn in as president, Ruto promised to grant financial autonomy to the National Police Service by transferring its budget from the Office of the President and designating the Inspector-General as the accounting officer.
"Financial independence to the police will give impetus to the fight against corruption, and end the political weaponisation of the criminal justice system; an undertaking I made to the people of Kenya," Ruto said.