- In June last year, the National Police Service and office of Inspector General of Police were embroiled in a row over the promotion of 514 officers.
- NPSC maintained that the law was broken in the promotion of police officers by Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome.
Image: FILE
The Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee is scheduled to meet on Thursday to deliberate over overlapping roles between the National Police Service and office of Inspector General of Police.
The committee led by Githunguri MP Wamuchomba Gathoni will assess compliance with the Constitution and the National Police Service Act by the two offices.
The committee will later meet the National Police Service Commission chair Eliud Kinuthia and Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome and his two deputies Douglas Kanja and Noor Gabow.
In June last year, the National Police Service Commission and office of Inspector General of Police were embroiled in a row over the promotion of 514 officers.
NPSC maintained that the law was broken in the promotion of police officers by Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome.
Appearing before the Standing Committee on National Cohesion, Equal Opportunity and Regional Integration, Commission CEO Peter Leley said NPSC is the institution mandated with the promotion of officers.
Leley said the commission will insist that it be allowed to execute its mandate.
“We have been asked to explore mediation and we are progressing well. We, however, insist that the law must be observed,” he said.
The Labour Court suspended the promotions of 514 officers, allegedly elevated illegally by Koome.
The suit arose from Koome's announcement that he had promoted the officers with immediate effect.
But in a swift move, NPSC denounced the IG's action, saying the promotions were unlawful and un-procedural as the IG has no authority in law to promote officers.
Justice Byram Ongaya issued the orders on June 22, 2023, following a suit filed by Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah, who argued that Koome usurped the role of the NPSC.
In July, mediation talks between NPSC and the National Police Service to resolve the row collapsed.
NPSC chair Eliud Kinuthia told senators the move to resolve the standoff out of court had “hit a dead end.”
Appearing before the Standing Committee on National Security, Defence and Foreign Relations, Kinuthia said Koome had shown reluctance to resolve the matter but maintained the commission was still open to talks
.“Mediation has collapsed. The other side did not want to cooperate with us,” he stated.