Raila rejects Kibaki police appointments

Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo (facing camera) confers with Ndegwa Muhoro (right) and Samuel Arachi (second right) after a meeting with senior police officers at the CID pavilion in Nairobi December 31, 2012. Prime Minister Raila Odinga has rejected the appointment of Grace Kaindi and Mr Arcahi as deputy IGs and Mr Muhoro as CID director January 26, 2013. FILE

What you need to know:

  • PM says there were unresolved integrity issues touching on the officers

President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Saturday differed over the appointment of three police chiefs.

Mr Odinga rejected the naming of Grace Kaindi and Samuel Arachi as deputy inspectors-general and Ndegwa Muhoro as CID director saying the appointments announced last Friday were unconstitutional.

The PM said the appointees could not reform the police, adding that he and the President had not agreed on the names as he had expressed reservations on the integrity of the officers.

A Gazette notice issued last Friday named Kenya Airports Police Unit Commandant Grace Kaindi the Deputy Inspector General in charge of the Regular Police and Samuel Arachi as the head of Administration Police. Mr Muhoro was confirmed as the new head of the CID.

“I had raised my serious objections to the three names that were presented to me in the consultations that were under way,” the Prime Minister said.

He said the Independent Police Oversight Authority (Ipoa) chairman Macharia Njeru had issued a scathing report highlighting serious allegations touching on the integrity of Mr Muhoro.

Mr Njeru had also written to both principals asserting that Mr Muhoro should not be considered for any of the police appointments.

But the Head of Public Service, Mr Francis Kimemia, yesterday said Mr Odinga had been duly consulted before the appointments were gazetted.

Mr Kimemia said the PM had objected to the appointments because his favourite nominee for head of AP was not picked for the job.

In his statement, the PM said the National Accord explicitly indicated that senior appointments must reflect agreement by both sides of the coalition and the appointments needed to be gazetted within five days of parliamentary approval.

“This was not done,” he said, adding that such appointments would undermine the confidence of Kenyans in the police.

“The reforms in the police cannot be carried out by the new appointees, all of whom were existing officers in the current force and had blemished records,” he said.

Mr Odinga said the rot in the force was on display in the ongoing inquiry into the activities of Mr Joshua Waiganjo, who posed as a senior police officer in the Rift Valley.

The PM had earlier objected to the first list, saying it violated the law on gender balance.

“They then tried to change this law to remove the gender balance provision but, luckily, that went nowhere,” he said.

The PM said consultations with the President had been at an advanced stage when they were abruptly discontinued and the appointments announced.

But Mr Kimemia said consultations had been “extremely wide and extensive”.

“The candidates appointed are the best. The PM’s office wanted Patrick Ochieng to head the AP; this is not possible, the Police Act states otherwise – that a unit can only be headed by one of its own,” he said.