Police chief accused of failing teamwork

Accusations of insubordination and denial of disconnect in Police Service took centre stage Tuesday as the vetting of 23 senior officers got underway in Nairobi.

Director of Community Policing Beatrice Nduta was among those who faced the National Police Service Commission panel and was accused of “insubordination” and “lack of cooperation”, especially during her tenure at the airport unit.

Ms Nduta was accused of opening her boss’s personal letter when she was the Deputy Commandant Kenya Airport Police Unit.

Commissioner Mohammed Murshid said the letter was personally addressed to the commandant, confirming him to the rank of Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police.

Pushed to account for her action Ms Nduta said: “If the letter was personal, then it was a mistake. I admit.”

Her “meteoric rise” was also questioned. The panel heard that between 1980 and 1984 she rose from the rank of Constable to Inspector, skipping the rank of Senior Sergeant.

She was also put to task over her dismal performance as the Director of Community Policing and Gender, after it emerged that five years down the line, she has not come up with a policy document on gender.

In defence, the director said most officers had not embraced community policing.

Nairobi County Commander Benson Kibue was hard-pressed to explain his accounts.

The panel heard that he sold four vehicles at Sh2.1 million but immediately bought a Toyota saloon and two Toyota Landcruisers at Sh4 million.

“What you bought was more than what was sold. Why aren’t we seeing this money in your account?” Commissioner Simiyu Werunga asked.

Director of Internal Affairs Unit Leo Nyongesa admitted that there had been no communication regarding his verbal deployment to the current office by Inspector-General David Kimaiyo.

He was hard-pressed to explain what he had done for the last seven months.

Former Director of Logistics at Police headquarters Julius Kanampiu said he too was given a verbal instruction to report to Mr Kimaiyo.

The vetting continues today where Mr Silas McOpiyo (Planning), Joseph Ashimala (Kenya Police College), Joel Mboya Kitili (Police headquarters), Philip Tuimur (Police headquarters) and Mr Fred Mwei of the Security of Government Building Unit will face the panel.