Police officer seeks to opt out of vetting

A senior police officer in Nyeri wanted to opt out of vetting by the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) on Wednesday, citing his attainment of the retirement age.

Obadiah Rikura, the Traffic Base Commander for Nyeri Central, told NPSC Chairman Johnston Kavuludi that he did not want to go through the process as he has attained retirement age. The officer in the rank of chief inspector based at Nyeri Central Police station was among the first to face the Kavuludi-led panel. However, he did not wait to enter the vetting room before telling Mr Kavuludi outside that there was no point in vetting him as he was on his way out of the service.

“I am already on terminal leave because I have reached retirement age so I would like to opt out of the vetting,” Mr Rikura said.

Mr kavuludi, however, told him that he would still have to face the panel as it is a procedural requirement.

Although journalists were barred from covering the proceedings, the Nation learned that the officer still faced the panel as a matter of formality.

The commission also said that some cases it is tackling are complicated and are taking a longer.

“Some of these cases are quite complicated,’’ Commissioner Ronald Musengi said.