- Kanja was approved by both the Senate and National Assembly as the new IG after a vetting process.
- President William Ruto appointed and gazetted him as the IG for four years in a notice dated September.
Image: FILE
When the new Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja walks to his office next week he will be setting foot in a familiar territory.
He will settle into an office he has tested and knows what it means to be there.
Kanja was approved by both the Senate and National Assembly as the new IG after a vetting process.
President William Ruto appointed and gazetted him as the IG for four years in a notice dated September.
He is scheduled to take an oath of office before he takes over the office from acting IG Gilbert Masengeli.
Kanja had handed over to Masengeli who is the Deputy Inspector General of Administration Police Service (APS) at Jogoo House B on August 26 after he was nominated to the position.
Kanja who was the immediate former Deputy Inspector General of Kenya Police had earlier on July 12 taken over from his then boss Japhet Koome who resigned.
A month later, he was nominated as the successor of Koome forcing him to leave the acting position to another acting officer- Masengeli.
As he walks back to the service, he knows among others, that lack of resources, corruption and low morale in general are the main challenges facing the police.
These resources are key in among others implementation of proposed reforms to make the service better.
He is the immediate former DIG of Kenya Police and Commandant General Service Unit (GSU).
These are critical units of the National Police Service as they form the biggest number of personnel and operational base for the service.
The issue of discipline in the service has been wanting for days and there are hopes he will be strict to ensure it is back, insiders say.
Ongoing investigations from various agencies in regard to the people killed during the anti-government protests and those missing also pose a challenge to the incoming police boss.
Already his now deputy Masengeli has been indicted over the same and it is turning political.
Kanja has to take over and ensure there is harmony and order among the concerned parties in handling the issue.
Major pending reforms in the service hang on the shoulders of the police commanders and political class who are supposed to implement them for better delivery of service.
Lack of finances threatens the whole plan and now Kanja will be the man to watch.
The proposals are contained in a report by the National Taskforce on Improvement of Terms and Conditions of Service and other Reforms for Members of the National Police Service, National Youth Service and Kenya Prisons Service.
Kanja had in July this year sent an internal memo to police asking them to embrace the proposed reforms.
President William Rut says the government needs Sh106 billion to implement far-reaching reforms.
Ruto made the remarks on Wednesday during the launch of the launch of the Strategic Framework for Implementation of reforms in the services.
The Framework provides an integrated approach to reform priorities in a strategic and coordinated manner to ensure coherence among reform institutions.
From all the police reform initiatives, this is the first that has a Strategic Framework for implementation developed by the relevant institutions and how it is handled will determine much.
Out of the money, Sh22 billion will finance improvement in the compensation package for officers while Sh37 billion will go to the upgrading of the hardware and welfare reforms and Sh45 billion is required to implement modernisation of the services.
Ruto said the National Treasury will provide part of the funds while the rest will be catered for by investors.
"We appreciate the considerable financial implications of the full implementation of the changes prescribed by the Maraga task force. It is estimated that it will cost Sh106 billion to fully actualise these recommendations," he said.
Ruto revealed that the government had procured 1,000 e-vehicles for police officers to enhance e-mobility across the country.
He added that plans were also in place to construct 32,000 houses for the security officers, highlighting how some law enforcement officers often live in deplorable conditions.
"Some of our officers live in houses that are not different from the prisons themselves. That cannot be the case. That's why we extended the housing program to include institutional houses for our military, police, NYS and prisons," he said.
To implement the reforms within the three services, the president said ministries and agencies will oversee the implementation of the reforms in the coordination with the National Steering Committee that was recently appointed by Interior CS Kithure Kindiki.
He said any challenges encountered must be resolved without delay through the committee and that public participation must be included in developing policies and any form of Constitutional changes.
The three services; NPS, KPS, NYS will be required to complete their modernisation strategies and plans in three months and the Treasury is required to ensure funding to implement these reforms, Ruto said.
The report identified specific issues such as political interference in NPS, corruption in employment and promotions, police training curriculum, an inadequate National Police Service Commission (NPSC), the role of the Cabinet Secretary responsible for National Security and the structure of the Internal Affairs Unit (IAU) in the police.
While presenting the report, Maraga called for political goodwill in the implementation of the recommendations saying similar proposals were previously made but never implemented.
"It also became clear that the reform recommendations stand little chance of being implemented if the leadership issues are not addressed," Maraga said.
Prioritising transparency, professionalism, and community engagement have the potential to not only reshape the police service but also rebuild trust between law enforcement agencies and the people they serve.
The framework developed in consultation with stakeholders from has identified four key areas of reform.
They are leadership in the three services, oversight and accountability, institutional capacity development and human resource management and development, as well as operational preparedness and logistical capability.
The task force made a total of 598 specific areas of reform and most of them are on police which Kanja has to push through.
They include 271 recommendations on police service, 210 on NYS and 117 on the prison service.
The team implementing the reforms has so far categorised them into four broad areas.
Of the 598 recommendations, the National Inter-Agency Steering Committee identified 291 that could be implemented through administrative action without financial implication.
Kanja has had a stellar career spanning nearly four decades in law enforcement, during which he rose through the ranks to the top command of the Service.
Many have hopes he will be different and steer the service to new levels.
He previously served as Deputy Inspector General of the Kenya Police Service, Commandant of the General Service Unit for a period of five years, Deputy Commandant of the General Service Unit for three years, County Police Commander in charge of Kilifi County, Deputy Commandant of Kenya Airports Police Unit, Chief Armourer at the Police Headquarters and Deputy Chief Armourer at the Kenya Police Service Headquarters, among other high-level positions within the ranks of the National Police Service.
A career police officer who has served for a cumulative period of thirty-nine years, Kanja began his career as a recruit Police Constable in 1985 and was then promoted to Police Constable, Police Corporal, Acting Inspector of Police, Inspector of Police (IP), Chief Inspector of Police, Acting Superintendent of Police, Superintendent of Police, Senior Superintendent of Police, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police, Commissioner of Police, Assistant Inspector General and later Senior Assistant Inspector General.
He has been in all ranks.