Police officers set for promotion after vetting

Senior police officers with high academic qualifications and a clean track record will be promoted after the national vetting, an official has said.

Ronald Musengi of the National Police Service Commission on Friday said commissioners had discovered that some officers with high academic qualifications had been misplaced. They occupy junior ranks.

ENGINEERING GRADUATE

Their salaries were not aligned to their qualifications, with some going on for as long as 15 years without promotion.

“We are taking advantage of the vetting to ensure that officers are placed at levels they deserve,” said Mr Musengi.

“There are senior superintendents who will be moved to the ranks of county commandants and so on,” he added.

He cited the case of a mechanical engineering graduate who works as an OCPD.

“He earns a low salary, which is not commensurate with his qualification. Seven other engineers are in a similar situation. They are working as OCPDs in different regions,” he said.

Mr Musengi said the commission was in charge of human resources and its role was not only to send home incompetent officers but to also recommend promotions and reshuffling.

Mr Musengi spoke during police vetting in Kisumu on Friday.

A total of 108 senior officers from Nyanza will have appeared before the panel by Thursday next week.

He criticised claims that the commission had taken too long to complete its work, saying there should be no timeline for questioning an officer.

“We give a maximum of 10 hours a day, including Saturdays, to this service. It should, therefore, be appreciated that we vet a specific officer for as long as we have exhausted pertinent issues,” he said.