Top police bosses face the sack as new education rules begin to bite

 PHOTO | FILE Police Service Commission chairman Johnston Kavuludi.

In Summary

• The National Police Service Commission (NPSC) on Tuesday advertised 94 positions of County Commanders, to be at the rank of Assistant Inspector-General.
• Senior officers are under a one-year management course at the National Defence College in Karen. The course is normally attended by senior government, police and military officials from 13 African countries. 

All eight provincial police officers may be forced to retire next month in one of the most drastic personnel changes in the force’s history.

The officers lack the minimum academic requirement for deployment under the new structure unveiled last year.

Their rank — deputy commissioner of police — has been abolished and new posts of county police bosses created, with a minimum qualification of a university degree.

The officers – Benson Kibui, Aggrey Adoli, Levi Kyule Mwandi, Joseph ole Tito, Alfred Ombamba, Charlton Mureithi, Larry Kyeng and Marcus Ocholla — are certificate and diploma holders.
Eligibility

Other officers staring at early retirement include GSU Commandant William Sayia, 51, police reforms director Jonathan Koskei, 58, community policing boss Beatrice Nduta, 58, director of complaints Leo Nyongesa, 57, head of police operations John Njue Njagi, 60, and Peter Kavila, the Kenya Police College Commandant, 57.

The National Police Service Commission (NPSC) on Tuesday advertised 94 positions of County Commanders, to be at the rank of Assistant Inspector-General.

Those eligible for the positions have to be of the rank of superintendent of police and above, hold a minimum of Bachelor’s degrees and must have served for at least 10 years.

Though most senior officers are not degree holders, they say they have what it takes to qualify for the new positions.

Education, competency, integrity are among the issues that will determine their suitability for the new posts. The NPSC is mandated to discontinue the service of any officer who scores poorly on these marks during vetting next month.

There are several training options for police officers after employment. These include corporal (four months), sergeant (two months), inspectorate (six months), higher training (six months), senior command course (three months), and four investigation courses of two months each.

Senior officers are under a one-year management course at the National Defence College in Karen. The course is normally attended by senior government, police and military officials from 13 African countries.

NPSC chairman Johnson Kavuludi said the appointment of county commanders would pave way for the establishment of the County Policing Authority.
County level

The authority would comprise the governor or his representative, police chiefs, intelligence service and the directorate of criminal investigations at the county level.

At the same time, Inspector- General of Police (IGP) David Kimaiyo has recommended the creation of two ranks of senior assistant inspector-general of police (SAIGP) and that of a police commander. The SAIGP will be a rank below the deputy IGP and above the Assistant IGP, while that of the Police Commander will be below the Assistant IGP.

Last year, six senior positions held by more than 1,200 officers were abolished. This left former deputy police boss Mr Francis Okonya in a limbo.

Mr Kavuludi said Friday some of the senior officers will be posted to head various directorates. He had earlier this year said the commission was concerned about the poor communications between the public and the police service. But the appointment of Mr Anthony Munga as the director of communications was revoked.

The office has no substantive holder at a time when reports indicate police are not get getting sufficient intelligence reports from the National Intelligence Service.