By Issa Hussein - Reporter
Kenya, June 10, 2026 - Inspector-General of Police Douglas Kanja is leading a high-level Kenyan delegation to Japan as the government intensifies preparations for the establishment of a specialized Metropolitan Police Unit for Nairobi and its surrounding areas.
The inter-ministerial delegation, comprising officials from the National Police Service, the Ministry of Interior and National Administration, the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, and Nairobi City County Government, is holding consultations with the Japan National Police Agency and the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.
The visit is aimed at studying some of the world's most advanced urban policing systems and identifying best practices that could be adapted to Kenya's security environment.
According to the National Police Service, the delegation is focusing on intelligence-led policing, community policing, technology integration, specialized urban security operations, emergency response coordination, and crime prevention strategies.
The findings are expected to inform the establishment of Kenya's proposed Metropolitan Police Unit, a flagship security initiative designed to address the increasingly complex security challenges facing Nairobi and its metropolitan region.
The planned unit is expected to operate alongside existing police structures while providing specialized capabilities to tackle urban crime, maintain public order, improve emergency response and address emerging security threats in the capital city.
The government has indicated that the new policing model will combine modern metropolitan policing approaches with community-based policing structures to strengthen public trust and improve security outcomes.
The Tokyo benchmarking mission comes weeks after Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen visited New York, where he held discussions with officials of the New York Police Department (NYPD) as part of Kenya's efforts to develop the Metropolitan Police Unit.
During the visit, Murkomen said Nairobi required a modern policing framework capable of responding to the challenges associated with rapid urbanization, population growth and evolving criminal networks.
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The Cabinet Secretary noted that lessons from major global cities such as New York would help shape the design and operational structure of the proposed unit.
Government officials have argued that Nairobi's growing status as a regional commercial and diplomatic hub requires specialized security arrangements comparable to those found in leading metropolitan cities around the world.
Security experts have also pointed to increasing cases of organized crime, cybercrime, terrorism threats, traffic-related challenges and public order concerns as reasons for strengthening metropolitan policing capabilities.
As part of the ongoing consultations, the Kenyan delegation is studying how Tokyo integrates advanced technology into policing operations, coordinates emergency responses, manages large public events and maintains community engagement in one of the world's largest urban centers.
The proposed Metropolitan Police Unit will initially be piloted in Nairobi before the government considers expanding the model to other major urban centers across the country.
The delegation to Japan includes Director of Criminal Investigations Mohammed Amin, Beverly Opwora from the State Department for Internal Security, Musa Machooka from the Office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary, Nairobi County Delivery Unit Director Eunice Mueni, Edson Kangethe from the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, and Assistant Inspector-General John Kamau, the Director of Reforms at the National Police Service.
Officials say the benchmarking missions are part of broader police reforms aimed at modernizing Kenya's security architecture and enhancing the country's capacity to address emerging urban security challenges.