The death threats have emanated from officers alleging bias in the ongoing vetting, according to Kavuludi/FILE
The death threats have emanated from officers alleging bias in the ongoing vetting, according to Kavuludi.
“We have been threatened on a day-to-day basis by persons who identify themselves as police officers or want to be perceived to be police officers,” he told journalists on Wednesday.
“But what is significant is the correlation between the next cohorts which the public says it’s the most corrupt including the traffic police officers.”
The threats are contained in a letter addressed to President Uhuru Kenyatta which accuses the NPSC commissioners of receiving bribes from certain officers for them to be exonerated.
“A number of us in our several meetings have been thinking of pushing a bullet into his dirty mind but we want to give Your Excellency a chance to address our concerns,” reads part of the letter, allegedly scripted by dismissed officers.
Kavuludi who refutes the bribery claims says the renewed accusations are efforts by certain forces to scuttle the vetting exercise that has seen tens of police officers dismissed.
The amount of bribes the commissioners have been receiving according to the letter range between Sh1 million and Sh5 million, “depending on the seriousness of the crime committed.”
“Concerned police officers who have said enough is enough and are ready for anything including what we have indicated in this letter if the above issues are not addressed with speed,” the said ‘officers’ warned.
The commission has been accused of using three National Intelligence Service officers to push their agenda.
They picked a case of a senior police officer who was had been using someone else’s education certificates saying, “Kavuludi is worse.”
READ: Cop faked his papers, name and served for 22 years
They want Kavuludi dismissed as a chairperson of the commission.
Other than Kavuludi, the other commissioners are Mary Awuor, Murshid Mohamed, Ronald Musengi, Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet, Deputy Inspector General AP Samuel Arachi and DIG Kenya Police Service Joel Kitili.
The Director of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations is a co-opted member of the commission.
Boinnet has ordered a probe on the matter in a bid to establish the source of the letter.
The authors of the letter did not however indicate their former status at the police service, whether junior or senior.
The process is being conducted pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution Article 246 and National Police Service Act (2011) Section 7(2) and (3) which stipulate that members of the National Police Service shall undergo vetting to assess their suitability and competence.
The overall objective of the vetting is to build confidence and trust in the National Police Service.
The applicable vetting standards include officers’ satisfaction of entry and training requirements, their professional conduct and discipline, integrity, financial probity, and respect for human rights.
Officers who satisfy the commission with regard to competence and suitability will be retained and those who do not will be removed from the service.
This is the third time Kavuludi and his team has faced death threats since the vetting of police officers started in 2013.
Kavuludi once received a severed human head that was wrapped in a polythene bag and sealed in a carton while in the second instance, poisonous powder was sent to him in an envelope delivered to his office.
About The Author
