The National Police Service Commission met Tuesday, June 27 to solve an impasse among them over the promotion of 514 senior officers.
The meeting at Skypark in Westlands started early with the main agenda being to solve the standoff over the promotions.
All commissioners including Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome, and his deputies Douglas Kanja and Noor Gabow were present.
Also present was DCI Mohamed Amin.
This is after the Employment and Labour Relations Court on June 22 stopped Koome from implementing the promotion of 514 senior officers.
The court at the same time ordered the Commission to forthwith convene a meeting of all the parties with a view of amicably considering resolving the dispute within its investigative, conciliation, mediation, and negotiation functions and powers envisaged in Article 252(1) (a) and (b) of the Constitution.
Justice Bryam Ongaya issued a temporary order barring Koome from implementing the changes pending the inter partes hearing on June 29 of a petition filed by Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah
“Pending the inter partes hearing of the application or further orders by the Court, ad interim orders are hereby given staying the implementation of promotions affecting 514 police officers said to have been unilaterally effected on 5th June 2023 in the National Police Service,” ruled the Judge.
Ongaya further issued orders staying the implementation of the memo by the Koome on June 9 prohibiting police officers from applying to fill the 514 vacancies in the National Police Service as already advertised in the press by the NPSC.
The affected officers have already taken their salaries and worn the insignia.
This means the commission will have to ratify the promotions.
Under Article 252 of the Constitution, each commission, and each holder of an independent office may conduct investigations on its own initiative or on a complaint made by a member of the public and has the powers necessary for conciliation, mediation, and negotiation.
Ongaya said a compromise may be recorded in Court at the next date for inter partes hearing, further directing that the hearing of the application or further orders and directions will be on June 29.
Omtatah and activist Michael Otieno in their petition filed at the High Court challenged the promotions, saying Koome did not follow the right procedure, and wants the court to suspend the promotions.
“The promoted officers were arbitrarily handpicked and largely skewed towards two communities, cronies and relatives of senior officers. Some of the beneficiaries had not even completed the mandatory three-year stay in one rank before being promoted to the next,” said Omtatah.
They sought an order quashing IG’s unilateral promotion of the officers without reference to the NPSC, quashing IG’s memo dated June 9 instructing senior officers to inform the security agents under their command to disregard the NPSC’s advertisement and order of Mandamus compelling the NPSC to, strictly in accordance with the law, proceed and fill the 514 vacancies in the NPS as it advertised in the press on June 9.
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Earlier court rulings had declared that the IG has no unilateral powers to “recruit and appoint persons to hold or act in offices in the service, confirm appointments, and determine promotions and transfers within the NPS”.
Omtatah had also filed another case at the constitutional court but did not get orders.
NPSC chairman Eliud Kinuthia and CEO Peter Leley have opposed the promotions announced by Koome.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki read the riot act on the two police institutions that have been involved in a public spat over the promotion of 514 police officers.
He said actions, public exchanges of letters, and press releases between Koome and Kinuthia group amount to a violation of Chapter Six of the Constitution and is the highest level of irresponsibility, and continues to erode public confidence.
Kindiki warned that they can easily give a basis for removal from office through a tribunal for gross misconduct and for undermining the Constitution.
