The Inspector-General Joseph Boinnet has said he will deal firmly with perpetrators of violence in the run-up, during and after the August 8 General Election.
Speaking on Monday, Boinnet said the police will use ‘reasonable force’ when handling protestors.
“If violence occurs, then we have to stop it and it means we will use slightly more force than that used by those causing violence,” he said during a meeting on election preparedness at a Nairobi hotel.
This comes amid reports that there are more teargases and guns that have been delivered in the last couple of months in readiness for the big polls.
The country sunk to its darkest moments in history, when a bungled election in 2007 led to the death of over 1,100 people, while thousands of hundreds others were displaced.
The police was then accused of using excessive force, with figures of 400 said to have been killed by the police, who used lives bullets on protestors.
Boinnet moved to also allay fears of police brutality, saying police officers are being armed to ensure they have the capacity to handle any eventuality.
“We are not buying items for riot but also have to prepare for the worst; we don't want a similar situation like 2007 where we were accused of lacking the capacity,” he said.
His (Boinnet) warning comes a few days after acting Internal Security CS Fred Matiang’i warned politicians inciting people.