Muhoro and Kaindi fight for supremacy

A supremacy battle between two top police bosses is threatening the work of criminal investigators.

It pits deputy inspector-general (IG) of police Grace Kaindi against director of criminal investigations Ndegwa Muhoro.

A large number of police officers recently trained to become detectives are not making use of their new skills because they are still performing their old duties at their old stations as ordered by Ms Kaindi.

This has put her on a collision course with Mr Muhoro, who initiated the training hoping that the officers would be absorbed into the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) which is facing a shortage of detectives.

The new detectives were sought from the regular police and the General Service Unit (GSU), which fall under Ms Kaindi’s docket.

A senior officer who is conversant with police operations said Ms Kaindi has never accepted that the DCI does not fall under her docket as things stood before the 2010 Constitution. Before then, the police was headed by a commissioner, and the Director of Criminal Investigations was one of the commissioner’s deputies. The source requested anonymity.

The tussle started last year when Mr Muhoro embarked on a recruitment drive for his directorate. Last March, he identified 458 officers from regular police and the GSU, whom he trained in a basic investigations course. He wanted to enlist 600 officers.

STUCK TO PARAMILITARY DUTIES

Some of those who were in counties outside Nairobi were immediately released by their line commanders,  but when Ms Kaindi learnt of the development she ordered officers who had not left not to not leave without her express permission.

All officers who had been identified form the GSU are still stuck to their paramilitary duties.

A letter from the IG’s office relating was sent to Ms Kaindi on August 19, last year. It reads: “The IG has approved the talent spotting of 600 officers to join the Directorate of Criminal Investigations from the rank of police Constables to Inspectorate”.

Those who qualified were chosen after being interviewed at the DCI’s training school at the Police pavilion in South C, Nairobi.

As the dispute escalated, Mr Muhoro directed one of his lieutenants, Edison Nzioka, to write to all county police and formation commanders orderin them to explain why “talent-spotted” officers had not reported for their new duties.

Mr Muhoro’s orders were disregarded by Ms Kaindi, who has vehemently fought to have the director of criminal investigations to report directly to her and not the IG.

In his letters, Mr Muhoro made it clear that he only reports to the IG. For instance, when he sought to enlist the detectives, he wrote directly to formation commanders and only referred to Ms Kaindi “for information”.

In what senior officers observed was a hitch in law, the new Constitution established the Directorate which is semi-autonomous of the National Police Service under a Director but failed to bestow a rank on on its holder, as is usually the case with any disciplined service.

\