- Among the officials who had received their employment letters are directors of different departments that include procurement.
- The decision to lock out the new staff has prompted a protest from Kinuthia who accused Koome of overstepping his mandates.
Image: FILE
Some 51 civilian staff hired by the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) are stranded after they were locked out of their supposed offices at Jogoo House.
This follows a directive by Inspector General of police Japhet Koome who said he did not participate in the recruitment of the new staff.
Could this be a renewed fight between Koome and NPSC Chairman Eliud Kinuthia on how things are run at the agency?
Koome is a commissioner at NPSC together with his deputies. Kinuthia is supposed to leave office in September 2024 after serving his six-year term.
NPSC under Kinuthia had conducted interviews for civilian staff to be seconded to the National Police Service in various capacities. But Koome and his deputies did not attend.
Among the officials who had received their employment letters are directors of different departments that include procurement, legal and finance dockets.
The new staff were on Tuesday scheduled to meet the National Police Service Administrative Secretary Bernice Sialaal but when they arrived at Jogoo House they were not allowed in.
They went to the Office of the President at Harambee House, where again they were turned away.
This forced them to leave for their homes and wait for the way forward. Koome had argued that he never asked for staff from the commission.
The decision to lock out the new staff has prompted a protest from Kinuthia who accused Koome of overstepping his mandates.
He said the IG had ignored all meetings of the commission called to deliberate, among other issues, the hiring of civilian staff to be seconded to the police service.
Koome did not respond to our queries.
The new employees were to fill vacancies for the positions of Director of Human Capital Management, administration, legal affairs; Deputy Director of Human Capital Management officers, and Supply Chain Management.
Others are Internal Auditor, Chief Finance Officer, Chief Economist, Principal Human Capital Management officers, Principal Finance Officers, Assistant Accountant General, Principal Public Communications Manager and Finance Officers.
The commission had advertised the positions in November last year in accordance with Article 246 which mandates it to recruit and appoint persons to hold or act in offices in NPSC, confirm appointments and determine promotions and transfers within the service for non-civilian and uniformed staff.
This prompted a clash between the IG and Kinuthia. This was after the IG, in a June memo, announced that he had promoted 514 senior officers, a move that was declared unlawful and un-procedural by NPSC which said the promotions were covertly undertaken as they were not previously advertised
"Based on the irregularities cited above amongst others, the commission hereby issues the following directives; all purported promotions conferred on June 5, 202 to select members of the NPS are declared irregular and un-procedural," NPSC CEO Peter Leley said then.
"Any officer using such rank as irregularly conferred is warned that any benefits obtained shall attract personal liability. The Inspector General should recall his illegal actions as they flout various constitutional principles and his failure to uphold the rule of law by a state officer."
A week later, the commission advertised for the same positions in local dailies, a move that irked the IG who then circulated a memo ordering officers to ignore the advertisement or face disciplinary action.
A total of 7,471 applications were received for the said positions, out of which 184 were shortlisted and interviewed between December 7 and 14 last year at the Kenya School of Government.
Insiders said the IG was invited to take part in the interviews but reportedly declined to participate leaving the panel to the Public Administrative Secretary and members of the commission including the CEO and Deputy CEO.
Neither the IG nor the two Deputy Inspector Generals of Police or the Director DCI were present.
Last year in July, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki, who appeared before the committee of Parliament, said the public spat between NPSC and the IG was regrettable.
He said both Koome and Kinuthia risked being cited for breach of the Constitution by seeking to resolve a matter beyond their reach by playing to the public gallery.