CENTRAL BANK OF KENYA
GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY
NATIONAL POLICE LEADERSHIP ACADEMY
Remarks by Dr. Patrick Njoroge
Governor, Central Bank of Kenya
Tuesday, January 26, 2021
Ngong Township, Kajiado County
As prepared for delivery
Your Excellency; Distinguished Guests:
Today we are witnessing a milestone in the unlikely relationship between the
National Police and the Central Bank. It is much more than a friendship—of the
1,681 staff at the Central Bank, 325 are police officers, all united in the vision of a
World-Class Modern Central Bank. These officers are expected to be exemplary in
their discipline and professionalism, and I confirm, Your Excellency, that they
continue to meet that standard. As an example, the first Police officers in the history
of the National Police Service to conquer Mt. Kilimanjaro were two CBK women
officers in June 2018, Corporal Linda Kathambi and Police Constable Evelyne
Kasyoki. They continue to make us proud.
Your Excellency, in keeping with the blossoming collaboration, the immediate
objective is to build in this space where lions once roamed, a Leadership Academy
for the National Police. This will be a significant milestone for them, also because
there is a real need to build leaders in the Police force. According to a proverb, “An
army of sheep led by a lion can defeat an army of lions led by a sheep.”
Your Excellency, this project has brought together Kenyan expertise and will source
material locally. Of the total project cost of about Ksh.1 billion, you will be pleased
to know that the local content is more than 90 percent! About 35 percent of the
project cost is labor, all local. The value of imports is less than 9 percent, and 56
percent is local material. I would add that we have gone out of our way to source

stones from quarries in Kajiado County, tiles from the neighboring counties, etc.
Additionally, the facility is designed to be eco-friendly, for instance, a water
recycling plant will lead to more efficient use of fresh water.
Unfortunately the label “Built in Kenya” is not yet synonymous with “Built well in
Kenya” and quality concerns have bedeviled our competitiveness in the global
arena. Your Excellency, we want to change that narrative—tujivunie ujuzi wetu—
and all involved in this project are out to prove that we can do it! The project is to
be completed by December 30, 2021, within budget, and without compromising
quality or workmanship. I am sure the IG and I will be delighted to welcome you
back to open the World-Class facility on Monday, January 3, 2022.
Your Excellency, this project will allow us to achieve another important objective,
of building adequate accommodation for the CBK Police officers in Nairobi. I am
pleased to announce that we have finalized plans for a modern gated-community in
the Industrial Area with 210 units. This will solve permanently a long-standing
problem, of providing suitable living quarters for our officers and their families.
Before I finish, I want to thank all those that have worked hard to bring us to this
point. While these are many, I want to single out Cabinet Secretary Matiang’i and
the former IG Joseph Boinett for starting the ball rolling, IG Mutyambai who has
been enthusiastic in his support, the DIG, the National Lands Commission (NLC),
the Chair of the National Police Service Commission, and of course the CBK
Board. Your Excellency, I also remember your pointed questions about both these
projects at various times, and I want to thank you most sincerely for your support in
making this day a reality.
Thank you very much, and it is now my pleasure to hand back to you, Bwana IG!