Maraga issues seven-day ultimatum to Ruto over police reforms report

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 18 – Former Chief Justice David Maraga has given President William Ruto seven days to release the complete and unedited report of the National Taskforce on Police Reforms, warning that he will publish it himself if the President fails to do so.

In a letter dated August 18, 2026, Maraga said the report was submitted to Ruto on November 16, 2023, and was prepared at public expense.

“In the circumstances, and in view of the fact that the report was secured at public expense, and in line with Article 35 of the Constitution, I demand that you immediately release and publish the complete and unedited Taskforce Report within Seven (7) days, failing which I will myself release it,” Maraga wrote.

Maraga said his demand was prompted by what he described as the failure to implement recommendations in the report, particularly one requiring action to restore the independence of the National Police Service and end what he termed systematic police brutality.

The taskforce was established by President Ruto on December 22, 2022, with Maraga as chairperson, initially to review the terms and conditions of service and other reforms affecting members of the National Police Service and Kenya Prisons Service.

On March 3, 2023, Ruto extended its mandate to include the National Youth Service. The expanded taskforce was required to examine legal, policy, administrative, institutional and operational constraints affecting the three services, as well as the welfare and terms and conditions of service of their members.

It collected views from members of the public and other stakeholders before preparing its recommendations. On October 4, 2023, Ruto received an interim report from the taskforce and accepted three key recommendations.

They included moving the three services into the security sector for purposes of remuneration and terms of service, creating two entry points into the National Police Service at constable and cadet levels, and enforcing a transfer policy under which an officer would not remain at one station for more than three years. Maraga said the taskforce would present its final report within a month.

The final report was presented to Ruto at State House, Nairobi, on November 16, 2023. The taskforce identified underfunding, endemic corruption, leadership challenges, poor human-resource management and other structural problems among the issues affecting the three services.

The report was divided into sections covering the National Police Service, Kenya Prisons Service and National Youth Service, with detailed recommendations and implementation matrices contained in the full report.

The material publicly available from the taskforce includes its executive summary, which provides an overview of the findings and recommendations. The taskforce said the detailed recommendations and implementation matrices were contained in the respective sections of the full report.

Some recommendations from the taskforce have since been taken up by the government. In October 2024, the National Police Service Commission reported progress on reforms including salary reviews, promotions, decentralisation of human-resource functions and proposed amendments to the NPSC Act.

The Commission said implementation was being undertaken in phases because of financial constraints. Maraga’s latest complaint is specifically directed at recommendations which he says were intended to restore the independence of the National Police Service and address police brutality and impunity.

“For now, nearly three years, you have failed to implement the said recommendations and restore the Independence of the Service,” Maraga wrote.

The former Chief Justice also accused the State of allowing what he described as organised political violence, goonism and partisan policing in different parts of the country. He cited Homa Bay, Keumbu, Ol Kalou, Kisumu, Nairobi and Witima in his letter.

“We have witnessed organized political violence, goonism and partisan policing in Homa Bay, Keumbu, Ol Kalou as well as acts of violence in churches in Kisumu, Nairobi and Witima, among others, under your watch, direction and for your political benefit,” Maraga wrote.

Maraga further described the situation as “State Capture of the National Police Service” and warned against a repeat of what he said had happened in the past.

“This is a road the country has travelled before at terrible cost. It must not travel it again. This, in my view, is all as a result of the State Capture of the National Police Service,” he wrote.

The government has, separately, reported progress in implementing other recommendations from the taskforce.

Maraga is relying on Article 35 of the Constitution in demanding publication of the report. The provision gives citizens a right of access to information held by the State.The seven-day period in Maraga’s letter runs from August 18, placing the deadline on August 25, 2026..