David Mategwa, OGW, HSC, DSA, ICUDE, the National Chairman of the Kenya National Police DT SACCO, is a household name in Kenya’s Co-operative Movement, and more so in the world of Savings and Credit Co-operatives (SACCOs).
To many, his name represents resilience, discipline, and the power of visionary leadership. To the SACCO community, he embodies transformation, the man who turned around the Kenya National Police DT SACCO from an asset base of Ksh8 billion to the current Ksh64billion, in a span of not more than 10 years.
Behind his calm, authoritative presence is a man guided by three core virtues: self-discipline, fear of God, and doing the right thing even when it’s unpopular. These principles have anchored his leadership, turning the Kenya National Police DT SACCO not only one of the largest SACCOs in Africa, but also a global benchmark for financial prudence and good governance.
“Just do the right thing whether people like it or not,” he says firmly during an interview with Sacco Review. “If your conscience tells you that you’re doing the right thing, stick to it. Financial discipline is what we have worked to instill in our leaders, staff, and members alike. The position I hold is a trust bestowed upon me by members, and I must serve them faithfully.”
Here, Mategwa narrates his life journey in the SACCO sector, how he grew in various ranks to the top, and the secrets he used to turn around the Kenya National Police DT SACCO.
In an era when several SACCOs have fallen to mismanagement and corruption scandals, the story of the Kenya National Police DT SACCO under Mategwa stands out as a beacon of stability and integrity. His story is not just about leadership, it is about faith, purpose, and the power of disciplined stewardship.
According to the esteemed SACCO boss, he is not one of those that can be compromised since he has elected by members to serve them and not to oppress them.
A devoted Catholic and a product of strict moral upbringing, Mategwa attributes much of his leadership philosophy to his faith.
“I am already rich in faith because God has given me a good life, good health, and the opportunity to serve our members. Do you know the kind of training a police officer goes through at Kiganjo before graduating? So never abuse me for refusing to accept your deal, it doesn’t affect me at all, and I won’t be swayed,” he says, adding,
“I am a staunch Catholic. I served as an altar boy for almost 10 years while growing up,” he recalls with a smile. “In the Catholic Church, an altar boy assists the priest in performing duties during Mass at the pulpit. So I grew up knowing that you must pray to God to give you the wisdom to do the right thing. Once you ask God to lead you on the righteous path, everything else will fall into place.”
These values, coupled with the rigorous training he received as a police officer in Kiganjo, would later shape the kind of leader he became, decisive, ethical, and unyielding in matters of principle.
The Journey
Mr. Mategwa’s journey in the Co-operative movement and more so in the SACCO sector started in 1988 when he was recruited into the police service as a recruit in Kiganjo Police Training College. During that time, Mategwa narrates that among the forms they were filling and signing was a form to join the Kenya National Police DT SACCO, that was the first step.
“This is how I joined this SACCO, as we were filling the employment forms in 1988; the SACCO’s form was part of what we were filling. I didn’t question why were we filling and signing that form. It was mandatory for us to join and I want to thank those who made me join this SACCO,”Mategwa said
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After months of training at Kiganjo as a recruit, he went to Machakos for practical application of knowledge gain during training at the College. He was later deployed to North Eastern region immediately after completing the training, where he worked for five years.
“I liked Machakos because it was an urban area and life there was good,” narrated Mategwa. “I thought that after completing my training, I would be posted back to Machakos. Surprisingly, out of 1,000 recruits, only 30 of us, myself included, were deployed to the North Eastern region. But because I loved the profession, I served there for five years before being transferred back to Nairobi.”
While in North Eastern and as a member of the Kenya National Police DT SACCO, he received his first dividends, a five-shilling coin, which they collected by then at the District Commissioner’s (D.C’s) office.
“It was sent that time to the DC and we would go to the DC’s office and queue for the dividends, so you could sign against your name, and receive your dividends. Mine was a five-shilling coin,” he recalled hysterically as nostalgia hit home.
After months of saving, Mr. Mategwa took his first loan of Ksh20,000 in 1991 while still serving in North Eastern region , a loan he say he never knew was disbursed but saw deductions on his payslip, recalling the challenges he went through while trying to call the SACCO to follow-up and get more information regarding the deductions.
“I applied my first loan in 1991. I wanted to do some few development projects like buying land, constructing a good house among others considering that now I was employed. I applied for Ksh20,000 and it took six months. I saw some strange deductions on payslip. In fact they started deducting before I got the money. Remember also, calling the SACCO was also a problem because you are in North Eastern, you have to use the landline and when you call nobody picks. I tell you it was a nightmare,” he said.
Elected as a delegate
Mategwa recalls his first bold step to enter the SACCO leadership. After five years of service in North Eastern, he was transferred to Nairobi and worked briefly in Kasarani and later moved to Kilimani.
In 1995 while he was working as a traffic officer in Kilimani, the SACCO went to elections and he was elected as a delegate. “They decided to elect me as a delegate Nairobi Area in 1995. They said that this is a bold person who can say in front of people that he didn’t came to elect, and that he came to be elected, so we elect him. That’s how I found myself in the movement as the first entry in the management of the Sacco,” he said.
When he later moved to traffic headquarters, he relinquished his position as a delegate of Nairobi Area and during the SACCO elections in 1998; he was again elected as a delegate representing the officers in the traffic headquarters, a position he hold until 2003 when he was elected as a member of the SACCO’s Supervisory Committee.
Road towards the top
He recalled that he was the only junior officer elected with majority votes to a national office of the SACCO-Member Supervisory Committee, where he stated that out of a term of three years, he only served two years in the Committee until 2005 where he entered the SACCO board as a chair Credit Committee of the Board.
“Our meetings used to take long. Imagine we could start at 8.00 a.m. in the morning and our election which was the last agenda is being done at 4.00 a.m. of the following day, almost two days. I was elected to the board and during board reconstitution, I was given Chairman Credit. That was 2005 and this Sacco was struggling. While chairman credit in the board, I ensured fairness, put various policies to ensure loans are disbursed fairly to members,” said Mategwa.
He served as chair credit for close to four years and due to his diligent service to members which he served passionately, he was unanimously elected as the Kenya National Police DT SACCO National Vice-Chairman in 2008.
This was a turning point of career in the SACCO since it was at this point where he introduced a radical changes in the SACCO notably delegates training, which was not there before he took over as National Vice-Chairman, which has been a culture till date.
“That’s where I started doing my work because my chairman who was a Senior Deputy Commissioner was always busy. I was the one making sure that things are running in the SACCO smoothly. As a National Vice-Chairman, I introduced delegates training in order to sensitize them on how they can run this organization. In 2008, I took them to Mombasa for education and training, and we formed a culture from there since this training used not to be there before. I am the one who started training the delegates, and that was the turning point of this great institution,” revealed Mategwa.
As a National Vice-chairman, he was loyal and obedient to his National Chairmen he served under. He never outshined his bosses and gave them maximum support and respect. He even recalled a scenario where one of his Chairmen resigned during one of the hottest Annual Delegates Meeting (ADM) and another officer bypassed him and declared himself the National Chairman.
I didn’t ever think of being the chairman, the worst thing to do is to outshine your boss, I just remained a vice-chairman and respected my chairman by then, for example I did not chair meetings. I gave my chairman full support, they would fight me but I couldn’t fight back. They could say this person is popular and it’s a threat to this organization. But I would tell my chairman, my popularity is even helping you to run the organization.
“In 2012, the chairman stepped down. It was a hot meeting and he was to go for elections. Do you know what happened? There was another Senior Deputy Commissioner in the board, who declared that he’s the chairman and imagine am there as the National Vice-chairman! But for the unity of this great institution, I allowed it happen that way. He didn’t serve for long since the following year, he had a hot ADM,” recalled Mategwa.
In 2013, Mr. Mategwa was finally elected as the National Chairman of the SACCO whose total asset was Ksh8 billion. “When I took over, total assets of Kenya National Police DT Sacco was Ksh8 billion. We are projecting that when we close this year, total assets should be above Ksh64 billion, that’s what we know we will achieve.”
Leadership Philosophy
Being a leader is a rewarding but also one of the most challenging task because not only are leaders required to make progress toward business or organization goals, but they also need to ensure their team feels supported. Without a personal understanding of one’s core values and work style, achieving leadership success can be difficult and this is where leadership philosophy comes in.
A leadership philosophy is the unique set of values, beliefs and principles that set the foundation for how a person leads and guides others. Defining a leadership philosophy can provide one with a roadmap and structure for successfully managing a team or organization.
When he rose to the throne of the Kenya National Police DT SACCO, Mr. Mategwa knew clearly what await him and he couldn’t not achieve it without believing in a particular style of leadership which has turn around the performance of the SACCO to date.
He knew that the advantages of setting a robust philosophical foundation are clear and can be especially beneficial during challenging times, and also which could help him make decisions, delegate responsibilities and manage the giant SACCO in Africa and internationally. He knew that because change is inevitable, leadership philosophies can and should evolve with time.
According to Mategwa, he took time to analyze pillars that if not properly followed and adhered to as a leader, an organization goes down. He realized that of all the pillars, governance is the strongest pillar that keeps the organization in a right trajectory.
“Governance is our top priority in terms of running this organization. To make it work, I make sure all the board members have to go through vigorous five-day training at the Centre for Corporate Governance where Prof. Joshua Abong’o Okumbe is the Chief Executive Officer. They have to understand that once you’ve been given the position of leadership by God, it is not about you, it is about serving other people,” said Mr. Mategwa.
He also revealed that his emphasis on leadership revolves around training of both board of directors, management staff and the delegates.
The five days leadership training at the Centre for Corporate Governance (CCG) is designed to empower Board members and top leaders with the knowledge and skills necessary for exemplary leadership. The training is tailored exclusively for Board members, top organizational leaders, and professionals from diverse backgrounds who are eager to deepen their knowledge.
Apart from the local training at the CCG, Mr. Mategwa also notes that the all the board members and the senior management staff at the Kenya National Police DT SACCO also undergo African Development Educators (ADE) Programme, which is a global training programme conducted by the African Confederation of Cooperative Savings and Credit Associations (ACCOSCA), through its ACCOSCA Academy.
The ADE training programme which is normally held in partnership with the National Credit Union Foundation (NCUF) combines practical cooperative strategic thinking within the sector and its impact on its members. On this, participants from ADE around the world gather to learn and be mentored by some of the world’s most renowned cooperators.
Regarding management and daily operations at the Kenya National Police DT SACCO, Mr. Mategwa, as part of his philosophy on strong leadership, he transferred all the procurement roles and activities to the SACCO’s management. He revealed that before he took over as the National Chairman, such roles were being performed by the board of directors through a procurement committee which consisted of members of the board.
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“When I took over as the chairman, things like procurement that can easily bring down the organization, I transferred them so that it can be done by the management. Initially it was being done by the board and I told them that we cannot handle procurement and have procurement committee consisting of board members. If we are the people also being involved in procuring goods, if things go wrong, who do we blame? Our hands are already there. The board only remained with oversight role in procurement. That was in 2013 when I took that decision. In leadership, if you have changes, do it now,” said Mr. Mategwa.
Another aspect in Mr. Mategwa’s leadership philosophy at the Kenya National Police DT SACCO is being realistic. In the SACCO sector, paying of dividend is seen as one of the most attractive point since a SACCO that pays higher dividends attract more members.
But for Mr. Mategwa, at the Kenya National Police SACCO they are realistic of the percentage of dividends they declare to members, while at the same time building a strong capital base for the SACCO by increasing the minimum share capital from Ksh20,000 to the current Ksh50,000. Also the SACCO capitalizes 20 per cent or Ksh2 billion back to the SACCO.
“We don’t want to run this organization and deceive the members by giving them higher dividends while we know very well that we are not doing it to that standard of giving them that money. I started in 2013 when I said that we will build a strong capital base and in achieving this we raised our minimum share capital from Ksh20,000 to Ksh50,000. It was unpopular decision, but it I want to thank members because they passed it and we are now seeing the fruits. We also have a policy, when we audit our accounts; we capitalize 20% or Ksh2 billion, whichever is higher back to the SACCO. This is basically to strengthen our financial base and make it strong,” he said.
The Ambitious Strategic Plan and CSR Activities
The SACCO recently launched a 5 year 2025-2029 Strategic Plan which Mr. Mategwa describe it as an ambitious strategic plan where it plans to reach an asset base of Ksh100 billion during the five year period.
In the recently released SACCO Supervision Annual Report 2024 by the regulator the SACCO Society Regulatory Authority (SASRA), the Kenya National Police DT SACCO was ranked third position nationally with an asset base of Ksh59.83 billion in 2024 compared to Ksh54.24 billion that was recorded in 2023, being an increase of Ksh5.59 billion.
The SACCO’s income on the other hand also increased from Ksh8.86 billion in 2023 to Ksh9.95 billion in 2024. And by December 2025, Mr. Mategwa reveals that the SACCO is projecting an increase in both asset base and income where they are targeting a growth of asset base to above Ksh64 billion mark, and an increase in income to Ksh12 billion by December 2025.
“Strategic Plan is like our Bible, we read it every day so we always make sure that what is possible it has to be implemented. It is not a document that we keep it, but it is a working document for us. If you build a strong financial institution like this SACCO it can help both the economy and community growth,” said Mr. Mategwa.
Talking on the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Mr. Mategwa stated that the SACCO has exceeded expectations and their activities directly respond to the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) since they have CSR activities in education, sports, and health.
The Society’s most outstanding CSR project is the Police SACCO Stadium in South C Estate, Nairobi. This ultra-modern sports complex is one of the best facilities in Kenya, leading to its attraction for hosting various local and international games. The stadium was one of those that were approved by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as one of the training grounds during the Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) which took place in August 2-30, 2025, which was jointly held by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania under the 2024 CHAN Pamoja.
“We did a stadium which was a crazy decision and people were telling me am crazy. And do you know what happened? When I wrote a letter to H.E. the President to come and officiate the opening of the stadium, it did not even take a week, the response was here,” recalled Mr. Mategwa when he took us through the decision to construct a stadium and how it was received.
The SACCO also unveiled a modern state-of-the-art Police SACCO Gymnasium at the National Police College – Main Campus Kiganjo on July 17, 2025 and currently working on another big project at the General Service Unit (GSU) Training School where the SACCO is constructing a saluting dais which is expected to be complete by December this year and be unveiled in January 2026.
“I have done a magnificent Gymnasium in Main Campus in Kiganjo, something that has never happened since 1948. Now we have an international gym fully equipped. Now we are doing a saluting dais in GSU training school parade ground where the President will be standing while officiating the pass out parade. By December this year, we will complete it and we will open it in January 2026,” said Mategwa.
The SACCO has also built a modern dining hall with three modern classrooms at Utumishi Primary School, which have changed the image of that school, educated and mentored a good number of orphan children for police officers, and constructed a health dispensary in Ruiru.
On environment conservation, the SACCO has planted a total of 15,000 trees in Gilgil and another 10,000 trees at the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) headquarters in a bid to revive Karura Forest.
By Roy Hezron
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