Man dies after daughter misses police job

A man collapsed and died when his daughter failed to be recruited into the police service after he had allegedly paid a Sh300,000 bribe.

Sub-County Commissioner Thomas Sakah on Tuesday confirmed the death but denied the bribery claims.

“Charles Kamemba Nyarae collapsed when his daughter was sent home to collect some documents she had forgotten,” he said. “Medics who attended to him at Ekerenyo Sub-District Hospital said he had a history of diabetes.” However, a source claimed Mr Nyarae had paid a large sum of money to some of the recruiting officers for his daughter to be enlisted.

Mr Sakah said Mr Nyarae’s daughter had provided the required documents and had been allowed to go through the recruitment process up to 9pm, long after her father died. She, however, failed the medical examination.

Nyamira County police boss Rodha Kinanu said the incident was being investigated although indications show Mr Nyarae died of diabetes.

In Nairobi, National Police Service Commission chairman Johnston Kavuludi said recruitment at some centres could be nullified if allegations of malpractices are proven.

Mr Kavuludi said an audit of Monday’s recruitment would be done to establish if there were any irregularities.

He said the commission had two months to validate the recruitment at sub-county centres.

“If we find the allegations to be true of any centre, we will cancel the whole exercise there. We have two months to investigate allegations of cheating, corruption and maladministration. The commission will not condone any malpractice,” said Mr Kavuludi.

He was responding to reports that all had not gone well with the selection.

Nandi Hills MP Alfred Keter said he had received reports of corruption from various parts of the country.

“The recruitment was marred by corruption. It discriminated against Muslim youths on flimsy medicals and was unfairly distributed among constituencies. In some cases, districts were allocated the same slots yet they have varied populations,” he claimed.

The MP, who reported his misgivings to Inspector-General of Police David Kimaiyo, claimed the selection was extended to yesterday in some areas with the aim of leaving out some qualified candidates who could not afford to pay bribes.

He also said those with certificates from foreign institutions were turned away. “Youths who had certificates from private international schools were not considered. Two students from Lukenya Academy were turned away because they had IGCSE certificates. This is ridiculous as we know the officers wanted money,” alleged Mr Keter.

He further alleged that the officers demanded up to Sh100,000 in bribes.

“Youths said the officers were looking for the highest bidder. Some who had paid but were outbid by others had their money returned, claimed the MP.
Mr Kavuludi, however, said the recruitment was extended due to huge turnouts.

“The numbers were overwhelming in some centres. For instance, if a centre was allocated 100 slots and there was a very big turnout, it meant a lot of time was spent screening the applicants. Since the medical part was the last stage, the medics had to examine hundreds of finalists one at a time,” he said.

Early estimates showed 100,000 people turned up for the 10,000 jobs.

At the biggest centre at the National Youth Service in Nairobi as well as others in Mt Elgon, recruitment continued into Tuesday.

Successful candidates were issued with “docket numbers” showing they were awaiting screening for criminal records before they join training colleges in October.

ALLEGATIONS OF CORRUPTION

On Thursday, the Committee on National Security and Administration is expected to answer to MPs on the allegations of corruption.

Parliament Speaker Justin Muturi agreed to fast-track a request for an explanation by Kiminini MP Chris Wamalwa given the urgency and sensitivity of the matter.

Mr Wamalwa wants the committee to establish whether or not the recruitment was done in line with the Constitution and if the numbers recruited in each constituency reflected gender and ethnic balance, among others.

Suna East MP Junet Mohammed also complained about the recruitment which he alleged ended at 3am in Migori on Tuesday, implying that it took place under the cover of darkness.

“There was a lot of corruption,” he said. 

Additional reporting John Ngirachu