David Kimaiyo issues gag order to police heads
Inspector-General of Police David Kimaiyo has issued a circular prohibiting county and divisional police heads from issuing any information to journalists at the scene of a crime.
The circular warns of unspecified disciplinary action against police heads who contravene the order.
Mr Kimaiyo explained that all county police bosses, together with divisional heads, will henceforth brief the media through the office of the spokesperson.
"It sends a very bad image of the National Police Service when senior officers are captured in the media differing over the approach of dispensing any operational matter. Let me assure you that I will not allow personality and ego issues to cast the Service in bad light.
"I will simply have the antagonizing officers moved from that particular station and allow others to take over their responsibilities, and the country will move on. We all have a common interest of ensuring that the Service integrates well for the benefit of the country," said Mr Kimaiyo.
RAPPORTWITH POLICE
Journalists have traditionally created a rapport with police heads to get updates on ongoing investigations, leads on criminal offences and confirmations of arrests.
Officers commanding police divisions, or OCPDs, are the ones authorized to give media updates at the grassroots level.
An OCPD, who sought anonymity, said the directive is likely to hamper the war against insecurity in the country because reporters, who have been key in outing criminals, will no longer be free to interact with the police.
“We have been largely relying on media, who normally feed us with information because they are much trusted by the public. I am afraid that will fade away and lead to an increase of unreported cases of crimes,” he said.
