Hold your fire, Kimemia tells cops over new boss

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NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 16 – Following a simmering discontent in the rank of file of the police force over the possibility of a civilian being appointed to the helm, Internal Security Permanent Secretary Francis Kimemia is now calling for calm.

The PS says comments made recently by senior police officers both at Vigilance House and at the CID headquarters are “totally unfounded.”

“You cannot oppose the Constitution,” Kimemia said in reference to remarks made by CID Director Ndegwa Muhoro and deputy Police Spokesman Charles Owino.

Owino is on record threatening discontent and resistance in the force should the Police Service Commission recruit a civilian to the powerful post of Inspector General of Police while Muhoro has too voiced concerns on the subject saying “the police is not a private security company to be headed by a civilian.”

Kimemia describes fears of the two top cops as “premature and unfounded.”

“Look at the military, it has always been headed by a civilian and you have never heard them complaining,” he said in reference to the Commander in Chief of the Defence Forces, who is a civilian president.

“The police management line up is very clear under the new Constitution; the Inspector General shall have two deputies [to manage the regular police and AP] so there is no problem at all even if a civilian is appointed Inspector General,” Kimemia told Capital News on the sidelines of the police service commission interviews which were suspended last week.

Two weeks ago, the CID chief Muhoro said “Police is not G4S, Group 4, Securex or Wells Fargo that needs a managing director to run it well. This is a professional institution that needs a professional to guide and we have qualified officers to be appointed to that position.”

Owino, the deputy police spokesman was the first to fire the shot about three weeks ago saying “Let them know that Vigilance cannot be a training ground for civilians who want to be police officers and get leadership posts and those seeking for the same should go to Kiganjo or Embakasi first. We have competent officers who can be an inspector general.”

Their remarks have since generated mixed reactions from both within the government and the private sector.

Security expert Capt [Rtd] Simiyu Werunga too feels the officers went overboard in making demands on where the Inspector General of Police should come from.

“They are not the ones who asked for the reforms in the police force, how then can they come out and start dictating where the Inspector General should be sourced from? They are totally misplaced on this one,” Werunga said adding “to us it does not matter where the Inspector General will come from, be it a civilian or a police officer as long as he is qualified and meets the set requirements.”

In one of his weekly opinion articles in the Sunday Nation, lawyer Ahmednassir Abdulahhi said it was possible the deputy Police commissioner’s remarks were blessed by his boss Mathew Iteere.

“It was a most strange announcement of mutiny that a spokesman of the Kenya police force ever made. He is so brave that he has the temerity to announce a mutiny of the entire police at a future date,” Abdullahi who is also a member of a panel recruiting the Police Service Commission said.

“Mr Owino must have had the explicit support of his boss, the Police Commissioner, who it seems has not only authorised but probably even blessed the statement this week in which the deputy spokesman states that the rank and file of the police force would not accept a civilian as head of the police force.”

The panel has carried out interviews for candidates interested to chair the commission that will select the new police chief but suspended interviews last week because terms of its chairman Hassan Omar Hassan and member Okong’o Omogeni had expired.

The two had been nominated to the panel by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) respectively.

Attorney General Githu Muigai has asked the two bodies to nominate individuals to replace Hassan and Omogeni to enable the panel finalise its work to avoid stalling the much needed police reforms.

BERNARD MOMANYI

BERNARD MOMANYI

Bernard is the News Editor at Capital FM. He commands over a decade of experience in news gathering having worked in both print and electronic media. He holds a BSc degree in Information Sciences from Moi University where he is currently enrolled for a Masters programme.

  • Victor oluoch

    The police are right we need a person with hands on experience to lead the force the question is however are we able toget one police officer who is not only qualified but not compromised bearing inmind that the police force is perceived as one of the most corrupt organs in this country. I would aalso like to remind Mr.Muhoro that Even G4S, SECUREX and Fargo train their staff they don’t just pick anyone to lead the business and I am sure that he himself has some interest in the security business and cannot allow an armature to lead his business or one that he has some shares in.

  • Francis

    Bwana Kimemia, you are way off the mark in comparing the president- CIC to head of police.Unless you do not know the structure of your ministry the police force as currently constituted is under the direction of a civilian-MINISTER FOR INTERNAL SECURITY AND PS -I GUESS THAT IS YOU!They do not set their budgets and all expenditures are passed/sanctioned by you!Even worse-President Moi changed the administration of police by making PCs/DCs chairmen of provincial/district committees effectively putting another layer of civilians on the police force.In short the so called inspector general cannot be a member/position in police ranks and that is what the police are saying.If his work is administrative/political that is what your current rank is Kimemia.Kenya’s case is unique since you are talking about a national police force.In other jurisdictions where they have CITY POLICE FORCES the head of police is actually the mayor (civilian) and police director (cabinet position in city government hence can be civilian) and the HEAD OF POLICE CALLED CHIEF OF POLICE who MUST BE A CAREER POLICEMAN is now the actual head of police.You will see the director of police campaign with the mayor as part of his/her election team-SLATE THEY CALL THEM.In other words the inspector general can only be a position-ADMINISTRATIVE IN THE OFFICE OF MINISTER FOR SECURITY OR WHEREVER else police will fall in the cabinet.Remember that under the new constitution like the US cabinet secretaries will not be mps and will need to be SUITABLE for their ministries.Oversight will now be played by parliamentary committees in charge of security since the secretary does not sit parliament on daily basis.The chair of security commt. will now have very BIG powers over police and security of the country.So bwana Kimemia and all those bent on vilifying the police for giving their opinion -THEY ARE KENYANS TOO had better give better reasons/logic for your stance.The police are saying this-the person who will sit at vigilant house and called HEAD of police will have to be a POLICE OFFICER.I am amazed at the level of ignorance of those entrusted with the duty of guiding the process of reforms.Kimemia, the minister/ps in any ministry does not need to be a professional in the ministry/field-THE DIRECTORS ARE IN EVERY MINISTRY BECAUSE THEY ARE THE ACTUAL HEADS-THE OTHER TWO ARE ADMINISTRATORS/POLITICIANS.You should change your title to inspector general of police and remain in your current office.In other words the changes being talked about  are simply semantic-this is actually how the police is ran currently.Giving people different names does not change anything other create jobs for the MOST LOUD MOUTH-SADLY THE POLICEMEN CANNOT SHOUT FOR THEMSELVES!         

  • Boiyot

    Anyone can lead the police force! As long as they meet the requirements specified in the constitution. TOSHA! 
    Just because the current police crop don’t like it doesn’t mean we should cow under them. Whoever doesn’t like the new leader can go home!
    Blackmail, mutiny and any other types of treats should not be entertained here. We already have enough from our politicians.

  • Mazzdark

    In my honest opinion the Kenya Police Force as constituted is a colonial-era relic ill-suited to the demands of pro-active security and law enforcement in this modern democratic Kenya. It should be totally disbanded and the new Inspector-General mandated to recruit afresh, the current members of the force are for the large part tainted, incompetent and lacking in service ideals. Therefore the issue of demanding ‘one of their own’ to head should not even arise, Kenya should wipe the Police slate and start afresh..NO APOLOGIES.

  • Irmugambi

    Is this one heading for constitutional court for interpretetation?.
    I thought this is clear from the document that it is open.

  • http://www.facebook.com/DVK75 Daniel Vincent Kelley

    Sounds like the whole police force should be fired and arrested. They seem to be trying to hold their criminal clique together by threat. Probably they’re all neck deep in criminality and the chief was the micromanaging boss of it all. Now they won’t know who to shake down for protection money on what day and they won’t know where to make the contraband pickup and how all to keep their criminal racket gelled while their Crime Boss got put on early retirement.