Uniformed and disciplined service men and women have been urged to uphold professionalism, while performing their duties.
Deputy Director, Community Relations and Education at the Kenya Wildlife Service, Mary Kirabui, while challenging members of the disciplined forces to abide by the oath of allegiance, has also urged security personnel to work towards promoting peace and upholding fairness while discharging their mandate.
“All the men in uniform play a pivotal role in ensuring that we enjoy peace and security in this country. The nature of our work exposes us to challenges but let us be men and women of integrity. Remember that when we wear our uniform the society out there is looking up to us therefore, we must be able to work and perform our duties diligently,” she said.
Kirabui was speaking during the Central Region annual thanksgiving service for the uniformed and disciplined services at Our Lady Consolata Cathedral in Nyeri on Saturday.
The mass was attended by officers from the Kenya Police Service, Directorate of Criminal Investigations, Kenya Forest Service, Kenya Wildlife Service, Kenya Prison Service and Administration Police Service.
The service, which was themed “God Strengthen and keep me secure”, also paid homage to fallen officers who had lost their lives in the line of duty.
Also in attendance were the families of the officers with Kirabui asking the service men and women to set aside time from their busy schedules to spend time with their kin.
“The fact that we are uniformed officers should not divert us from our duties as mothers and fathers to our children. Our families require our presence, so let us take responsibility for our families,” she said.
The National Coordinator for discipline service chaplaincy Fr. Peter Kimani commended the officers for being good ambassadors of the government and taking a leading role in supporting government initiatives.
He at the same time called on the officers to look out for another and to complement each other at a time when the service is battling a myriad of challenges, particularly issues of mental health.
“As security officers we must be concerned about each other’s wellbeing and support one another as we acknowledge that none of us is perfect. We are all different, some have weaknesses while others have talents that is why we collaborate and complement one another so that we are able to raise each other up. Some of the issues that are affecting us in our work are mental health, our financial health, physical health and with all these we need to help each other so that we are able to support one another because your health is your wealth,” said Fr. Kimani.
On his part, Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry Nyeri chapter chairman, Ibrahim Ndegwa said; “We cannot talk about a complete economic system without considering security. Similarly, we cannot divorce security from economic growth and development. As stakeholders we are here not just to appreciate you but to promise our support.”
By Wangari Mwangi
