The National Police Service (NPS) Training College in Kiganjo has, for years, led Kenya’s police learning. However, limited and outdated resources have restricted the institution's capacity to do more. With funding from the United States, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is modernizing the college to meet rising security and training demands, all aimed at preparing Kenya’s police to respond effectively to today’s evolving threats.
The clang of old barbells and dumbbells fills the air as a group of young men push through morning drills at the NPS Training College, Kiganjo.
Today, Inspector Jendricks Nelima and her team are leading drills for the college’s youth football team inside one of the College’s modest gyms, made from iron sheets covered in fading paint. She serves as team manager for the football club, which consists of young people from neighbouring communities.
“These young men remind us why community engagement matters,” says Inspector Nelima. “They come here to play football and to find direction and discipline. The police college offers that safe space and we want to continue doing so for future generations.”
The NPS Youth Football Club was created by the Police College in 2014 to support young men from nearby communities, provide a positive alternative to crime and unemployment and strengthen ties between the police and the public. Today, like any other training day since the club was created, the team is using the Police College’s main gym for the first part of their conditioning training.
But the main function of the College’s gym and surrounding grounds is to serve as a space to train new police recruits. However, since its construction in 1967, the gym has never been refurbished, nor has the gym equipment been upgraded.
“We make do with what we have,” says Inspector Nelima, who is also a physical instructor for new recruits at the College. “Our spirit keeps us going, but our facilities have struggled to keep up with our needs or ambitions.”
The rest of the college’s infrastructure was also built decades ago, when the country’s policing needs were vastly different. Today, dining halls are old and overcrowded, the gymnasium and shooting ranges have barely functioning equipment and show signs of years of use, and library resources no longer reflect modern policing demands.
Inspector Nelima has served in the Kenyan Police force for over 19 years, and she believes that the outdated resources make it difficult to prepare officers to meet complex 21st-century threats such as cybercrime and terrorism.
“We improvise and innovate in all our training sessions with new recruits and with the youth football club, but our officers deserve better. Training shapes the police we become and the country we serve,” she says as she watches the youth football team move to the open field to continue a circuit training outside of the gym. In the open-air space, they use logs in place of weights and sledges made by a local welder.
In a 2022 assessment, the College recognized that rising training demands and rapid technological changes make modernization essential, underscoring the need for updated infrastructure and a professional workforce to effectively train and produce police officers with the skills to protect the public from old and new crimes. It also outlined that security and crime prevention must be progressive and forward-thinking. These findings directly led to the current modernization project, which is undertaken in collaboration with the National Police Service and with funding from the U.S. Embassy Kenya’s Office of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL).
The project, drawing on the 2022 assessment, focuses on transforming key training facilities at the College to ensure that police officers receive the skills and resources required for modern policing. Under this partnership, several outdated structures, including the main gymnasium, dining halls, kitchens, shooting ranges and the library will undergo comprehensive renovations, alongside the installation of new equipment and technology that align with global standards. The project will also update and facilitate knowledge management, including by providing adequate asset procurement and management systems and enhancing communications and outreach.
According to Luz Maria Guzman, UNODC Programme Manager, UNODC and the NPS have spent the time reviewing and conducting comprehensive needs assessments of the College’s asset management systems, information technology, communication systems and outreach practices to identify areas requiring improvement or updating.
“Our goal has been to ensure that every component of this project, whether in infrastructure, asset management systems or communications, responds directly to the needs we identified while working with the National Police Service,” says Luz Maria. “This is just the beginning of a long-term transformation that will strengthen training, enhance professionalism and support Kenya’s security priorities.”
U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires, Susan Burns added: “Security enables economic development, protects democratic institutions and allows our young people to dream big and reach further. That is why the United States remains committed to Kenya, not just as security allies, but as equal stakeholders in a shared future.”
For officers like Inspector Nelima, a former athlete who once held Kenya’s national record for the 100-meter hurdles, this investment signals a renewed commitment to strengthening the bond between police and the communities they serve. “We need change from every side. For me especially, modern facilities will not only improve how we train new recruits,” she explains, “they will also help us create more opportunities for young people who look up to the police for guidance and mentorship.”
The youth football club is one such opportunity. This year, the team earned a major milestone of its own – promotion from the Kenya Regional League to the Kenya Division 2 – evidence of their perseverance despite limited resources.
Kevin Biketi Mabonga is one of the players behind that success. After completing a diploma in Nairobi, he returned to his hometown in Nyeri when job opportunities proved scarce. Unsure of his next steps, the 24-year-old joined the youth football club as a defender. For the past two football seasons, the team has given him structure and purpose. “When I first came here, I just wanted somewhere to train,” Kevin says. “But this place has given me direction. We train with officers who believe in us, and it makes us believe we can also serve our country one day.
"When I heard that we would be getting a renovated and equipped gym sometime in the future, I was very happy. With better facilities, we’ll be even more motivated,” he adds. “It shows the country is investing in us, too.”
Many young men who joined the football club over the years have gone on to secure jobs or return to school. Two former players from this youth football club currently play in the Kenyan Premier League. Others go on to join the police service, inspired by the officers who mentored them. Like many of his teammates, Kevin hopes one day to join the National Police Service once the next recruitment cycle opens.
“When the community sees that police officers are invested in their future, trust grows,” says Inspector Nelima. “That trust is the foundation of effective policing.”
Beyond infrastructure, these upgrades form part of a broader effort to strengthen the professionalism of the National Police Service. The improved training environment is expected to raise the standard of instruction and reinforce human rights–based policing, ensuring that officers are equipped to respond effectively to today’s evolving security challenges.
As the youth football team wraps up their training session for the day, they clear up the training ground; packing up the logs, sledges and old tyres used during the intense circuit training. This makeshift equipment is a reminder of the resilience that has carried them this far. Soon, they will be replaced with a fully equipped, modernized facility designed to empower future police officers and the young people who look up to them.
“We have always done our best with what we have,” says Inspector Nelima, watching the young men clean up after an exhausting training session. “Now, with the coming changes, we hope to be able to do even more for our officers, our youth and our country.”
