I worked from car park, says top officer

The haphazard manner in which deployment within the police service were made came to light on Tuesday when a senior police officer revealed that he was forced to operate from a parking lot for five months.

Senior Deputy Commissioner of Police II Peter Eregae told the panel vetting officers that former police boss Hussein Ali rejected him after he was transferred from the Kenya Focal Point on Small Arms to Vigilance House.

Mr Ali said he was never consulted and forced him to take leave for one month, said Mr Eregae.

When he came back from leave, he he was not assigned any duties, forcing him to operate from his car. “I would remain in the car reading newspapers till September 2009 when I was appointed the deputy CID boss,” said Mr Eregae.

He went on: “He (Mr Ali) appeared not to be interested in getting me on board.”

Mr Eregae had earlier served as the officer in charge of the General Service Unit elite squad Recce, officer in charge of Quarter Master, and deputy commandant, Presidential Escort.

He told the panel that due to frustrations, he decided to apply for early retirement but then Internal Security Permanent Secretary Francis Kimemia prevailed upon him to continue working.

He was, however, not deployed until August this year when Inspector General David Kimaiyo redeployed him to his office to be in charge of administration.

Mr Eregae was the first to appear before the vetting panel at the KICC in Nairobi on Tuesday, when three other senior officers were also vetted.

The panel asked him to explain how he acquired vast land in Isiolo and Kitengela. “The land in Isiolo belongs to my family where I was born. However, I purchased the land in Kitengela through the Kenya Police Sacco,” he said

Senior Deputy Commissioner of Police 1 John Ochieng Owino told the panel that he felt his deployment did not consider his training and experience.

Mr Owino noted that although he was effectively discharging his duties at the Kenya National Focal Point on Small Arms where he was the director, he felt he would be more effective in the aviation industry.

“I am a pilot, aeronautical engineer, a qualified Air Accident Investigator, and an examiner. A person of my calibre would excel better in an aviation outfit,” said the officer, who also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering and a Master of Science in Aviation Science.

The next session to vet Mr Francis Okonya and GSU commandant William Sayia went in camera due to what the panel termed as matters touching on national security.

Mr Okonya had served as the officer in charge of the Banking Fraud Investigations and also the deputy director of the CID. He was also the first head of the Flying Squad.