Police in Kisumu are using football and community engagement to build trust with young people as they step up efforts to prevent crime and political violence ahead of the 2027 general election.
The initiative has brought police officers together with youths from Nyalenda, Manyatta and Obunga areas that have experienced insecurity and youth involvement in crime.
The matches were organised through Community Policing Committees and involved officers from the National Police Service, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Kenya Prisons Service and other government agencies.
James Omwa, the Community Policing Committees’ Kisumu Central County coordinator, said the programme was intended to give police and young people an opportunity to interact outside the usual encounters involving arrests and investigations.
“We wanted them to understand the work of the police. We wanted them to collaborate and cooperate,” he said.
The initiative comes amid concerns that young people could be recruited into criminal activities and political violence as Kenya approaches the 2027 election period.
Omwa said improving security required cooperation between communities, parents, religious leaders, security agencies and young people. “Security is a shared responsibility,” he said.
The football matches formed part of a wider community policing programme that included civic education and discussions on crime prevention and peaceful coexistence.
In one match, a Kenya Prisons team played a civilian side. In another, a National Police Service team made up of officers from different stations in Kisumu faced a youth team known as OP20, popularly called Mambogi.
Kenya Prisons lost 7-6 in a closely contested match, but officials said the result was less important than the opportunity to build relationships with young people.
Kisumu County Criminal Investigations Officer Stephen Ambani said sport could help bridge the gap between security agencies and the communities they serve.
“Police officers are also members of the public, and community policing has become a very instrumental structure that can bridge the gap between the National Police Service and the members of the public,” he said.
He urged residents to share information about crime with police, saying such information would be treated confidentially.
Ambani also warned young people against joining criminal gangs or being used to cause violence.
“We are working against the aspect of goons, goonism in our county now, Kisumu,” he said.
He said maintaining security should not be left to police alone and urged residents to take greater responsibility for the safety of their neighbourhoods.
The event was supported by the Principal Secretary for Interior and National Administration, Raymond Omollo.
Kenya Prisons Service officials said their participation was also intended to promote peaceful relations between security officers and young people.
Assistant Superintendent of Prisons Amati Nolero, representing Kisumu County Prisons Commander Frank Opondo, said security officers wanted to demonstrate that they were part of the same community as the youths.
“Our main aim of being here is to inform the youth that we all belong to the same society and the society must be so peaceful that we enjoy living in the same society,” he said.
Oganiser Boi Akoth said the programme would continue beyond the football matches.
The initiative is expected to encourage young people to reject crime and political violence and work with security agencies to make their communities safer ahead of the 2027 elections.
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