Nairobi, Kenya – Residents of Kamukunji have raised concerns following the rebranding of the California Police Station.
The residents questioned the Inspector General (IG) of Police, Douglas Kanja, over the move they termed “illegal corporate capture” of the station.
In a demand letter dated Wednesday, September 17, 2025, filed by E&D Advocates on behalf of the Kamukunji Dwellers Association, the residents challenged the branding and purported sponsorship of the station by a private entity identified as ATIS.
The association said the development amounts to an unconstitutional privatisation of a state security facility and a betrayal of public trust in the National Police Service.
“Our client and indeed the wider Kamukunji community has been gripped with outrage and deep concern over the recent branding and purported sponsorship of the California Police Station by ATIS. This reckless and unlawful corporate intrusion into a state security facility is not only an affront to the Constitution of Kenya, but also a grave betrayal of the public trust reposed in the National Police Service,” the letter reads in part, as seen by News 9 Kenya.
The lobby further alleged that the station’s Officer Commanding Station (OCS) Aden Denge Guyo has been reduced to an “agent of ATIS,” carrying out arbitrary arrests, harassment, and intimidation of citizens at the behest of private interests.
The residents demanded the immediate removal of all ATIS branding from the station, disciplinary action against the OCS, and a clear directive from the Inspector General barring private entities from branding or sponsoring police stations.
“If our demands are not met within 14 days, our client will escalate the matter through constitutional litigation, public engagement, and lawful mass action in defence of the people’s sovereignty,” the advocates warned.
They further claimed that the owner of ATIS is one Abdi Aidid, who is alleged to be a foreigner who acquired a Kenyan identity.
The association sent copies of the letter to the Principal Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Interior and the Director of Criminal Investigations.
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