Commission sets high standards for Inspector-General applicants

It is now clear that the new police boss would not necessarily be a Police Officer, according to the qualifications for candidates released by the newly-sworn National Police Service Commission. Read (New police boss to be named ‘soon’)

The Commission has published a number of requirements in Monday's dailies for qualified candidates to head the reformed unit now encompassing the regular and the administration police.

The body has swung into action a week after taking office and is now asking interested Kenyan citizens to apply for the top police job.

Other than being a citizen, the Inspector-General (IG) is expected to be a person of integrity as exemplified in Chapter Six of the Constitution.

The applicants are expected to have a 15-year-grip of security or criminal justice matters.

However, applicants with the same experience in policy development and implementation, finance and public administration, strategic management, law, sociology or government are encouraged to seek the job.

The possibility of having a civilian heading the police service has been opposed by senior officers with most suggesting that 'insiders' are better suited for the job.

For the two posts of Deputy Inspector-General, applicants are expected to match the same qualifications as the Inspector-General.

The two, who will be in charge of the Kenya Police Service and Administration Police Service, will be answerable to the IG.

The commission will pay attention to the two-thirds rule in the Constitution where one gender is not allowed to occupy more than two positions in public offices.

“One of the three positions of the Inspector-General and the two deputies shall be of the opposite gender,” the notice said.

Current members of parliament and their counterparts who may have set foot in the House in the last five years are barred alongside trade union or political party officials who have served in the same period.

Those interested in the positions must furnish the Commission with clearance certificates from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, Kenya Revenue Authority, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Higher Education Loans Board and the Credit Reference Bureau.

They should also submit a certificate of good conduct and be cleared by their professional bodies.

The Commission’s chairperson Johnston Kavulundi last week said they had put in place mechanisms to ensure that the new police boss was in office before the end of the year.

“If we do not face any interference then we should be having the Inspector General as soon as possible. We have established a mechanism to help us achieve this,” said Mr Kavulundi.

The pace at which the Commission has moved to ask for applications expected before or on October 29 shows the determination at which they want to settle the appointment.

Last week, Internal Security Minister Katoo Metito asked the new Commission to hasten the appointment of the Inspector-General saying Kenyans were “anxious to have someone in office”.

“As a Commission you will be expected to develop and design a mechanism that will embrace transparency, accountability and professionalism in the recruitment, training, deployment, promotions, transfers and disciplinary matters of members of the service,” said Mr Metito.

The minister also said he expected the recruitment of an additional 7,000 police officers to take effect soon.