Officer fails to explain why private petrol station is guarded by police

A senior police officer had a hard time explaining why he sent two Administration Police officers to guard a privately owned petrol station in Eldoret.

Senior Superintendent of Police Augustus Maundu Mutia, who is the AP County Commander in Uasin Gishu, appeared before the National Police Service Commission on Tuesday, the third day of the vetting of top officers in Eldoret.

Mr Mutia, who was quizzed by seven commissioners, was asked to explain what he did with the Sh24,000 paid by Hass Petroleum Station for the service.

The commissioners said they had information that a sub-county commander under the command of SSP Mutia wrote to the owners of the petrol station demanding the monthly payment.

Mr Mutia was tight-lipped when asked to shed light on the issue.

He was also asked to explain the origin of the hundreds of thousands of shillings in cheques deposited in his account from his spouse’s bookshop and printing business in Nairobi.

The officer said the business was “booming” but could not name any of its clients.

He was asked to appear again before the panel on Thursday morning.

“There is no way I can be given a cheque by someone and not be able to identify that person,” said commission chairman Johnston Kavuludi.

“We are giving you an assignment to come back to us on Thursday, at 8am, and tell us the origin of each cheque transacted in this business. You should tell us why the cheques are not deposited in your wife’s account since you claim she owns the business, but are deposited in yours and the cash immediately withdrawn.”

'DUE PROCESS'

Senior Superintendent of Police Selestino Nyaga Muchungu, the county police commander, was the last to appear before the panel.

He was taken to task over human rights violations by politicians that had gone unpunished.

“If a politician assaults a resident, due process is followed. He is supposed to come and record a statement and if he/she fails, we write a summons letter. And if he doesn’t comply, we seek the assistance of Parliament to get the accused to appear in court,” Mr Muchungu told the panel.

SSP Benard Onyango Nyakwakwa, who is the Starehe OCPD, told the commissioners he was working with the Criminal Intelligence Unit to stamp out drug trafficking in the Mathare and Korogocho slums in Nairobi County.

He also explained how he was tackling the terrorist threat in Starehe, where he was recently transferred after serving for five years as the Turkana OCPD.

Mr Ahmed Dahir, the Officer Commanding Kibish Police Station in Turkana, told the commission that the officers based in counties ravaged by cross-border conflicts were demoralised by poor allowances.

He said the plight of the officers in hardship zones should be addressed to boost their morale when combating vices such as cross-border cattle theft and banditry.

He had been asked how he would deal with the increased cases of cross-border conflicts.

“The problem we have in the conflict-prone areas is poor pay and deplorable working conditions, which have not been addressed despite several pleas,” he said.

“Rental houses in Turkana are so expensive that we cannot afford them,” Mr Dahir said.

On corruption, he conceded that some officers were involved in it to make ends meet.