The six-month jail sentence imposed on acting Inspector General of Police Gilbert Masengeli will take effect this Friday unless he grabs the olive branch extended to him by the court and appears in person before the court.
Justice Lawrence Mugambi pronounced the sentence Friday last week after Masengeli failed to appear in court for the seventh time in a row to explain the whereabouts of three people who went missing on August 19 in Kitengela.
They are believed to have been abducted by police officers and are being held extrajudicially.
The court decision appeared to have irked the IG, in the opinion of the Judicial Service Commission, leading to the withdrawal of the security detail of Justice Mugambi over the weekend.
Masengeli dismissed the version of the story saying two officers assigned to the judge were withdrawn to attend VIP security training, but alternative security arrangements were made.
The whole saga has degenerated into a standoff, with either side holding firm to their version of the story.
Speaking on Wednesday, President William Ruto said he had noted with concern the back and forth between the two independent institutions and urged that they reach a truce and work harmoniously for effective service delivery to Kenyans, the custodians of sovereign power.
“I’m acutely aware that the National Police Service is an independent institution, and so is the Judiciary but ultimately, we have one master—the people of Kenya,” he said.
“We must make sure that we work together towards serving, not the interests of individuals, but the collective interests of the people of Kenya,” he added.
The President was speaking when he presided over the launch of the strategic framework for the implementation of terms of service for the Police, Prisons and the National Youth Service at the Kenya School of Government in Lower Kabete, Nairobi.
Present were senior police officers.
The President said he would want to see more collaborative working relations between the National Police Service and the Judiciary.
“The independence that we respect and enjoy must also look at how together, interdependently, we can work towards achieving the greater interests and the greater good of the people of Kenya,” he said.
Masengeli found himself in a quagmire after the Appellate court pushed the hearing of his appeal against the sentence sentence to next week.
With the sentence taking effect this Friday, his best bet out of the quicksand is to grab the lifeline thrown his way by the court and appear in person before the court.
When Mugambi convicted him last Friday, the judge said the acting IG could redeem himself by availing himself before the court in person “to answer to the issues which he has been avoiding.”
"Failure to do so will automatically result in the sentence taking effect," the Judge said.
