The in-camera vetting of senior Rift Valley police over the past week has raised questions of propriety. It is usually open to the public.
Some officers have asked why their seniors, who have allegedly been receiving bribes, are being vetted away from public scrutiny.
Police being interviewed include inspectors in charge of crime units as well as officers transferred after being adversely mentioned by their juniors in extortion cases.
The vetting shifted from Nakuru to Nairobi immediately the commission concluded screening junior police officers.
The majority of junior officers said their bosses forced them to transfer large sums of cash to their accounts. A total of 328 traffic police officers from Rift Valley region were vetted between August 22 and September 2.
Speaking to the Star yesterday, NPSC chairman Johnston Kavuludi defended the commission, saying the room where vetting is taking place at View Park Towers is too small to accommodate the media and the public.
He said the room meant to accommodate journalists and the public is being renovated.
“Renovations are underway to prepare a bigger boardroom that will accommodate all interested parties, including the media. As soon as it is complete, we will notify them and they will be free to attend,” Kavuludi said.
Journalists were allowed to record the vetting of junior officers in Nakuru town.
The majority of junior officers, especially those in the traffic department, were found to be transacting millions of shillings through both their M-Pesa and bank accounts.
Kavuludi denied claims that some police officers have bribed the vetting panel to get favourable results.
“The commission comprises many stakeholders from the Law Society of Kenya, the gender commission, county government representatives, commandant of traffic, among others. If there are claims of bribery, let them specify which party exactly was bribed,” he said.
In February, some officers wrote an anonymous letter to President Uhuru Kenyatta and Parliament to complain about corruption in the National Police Service Commission.
The letter said that as much as Sh1.5 million was paid to some members of the commission to clear senior officers with questionable integrity.
In June 2015, Independent Police Oversight Authority board member Tom Kagwe told participants during a forum that some NPSC commissioners conducting vetting lacked “integrity”.
Kagwe told the forum on police reforms the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission allegedly mentioned Kavuludi in a report presented to Parliament by Uhuru over investigations.
Others to be vetted include traffic officers from Nairobi, from the rank of chief inspector to the lowest grade.
The commission will then move to Central region.
Meanwhile, following disagreements between Kavuludi and the Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet, the commission has been unable to agree on the future of some senior police officers whose promotions were rescinded a month ago.
Despite being instructed by Interior CS Joseph Nkaissery to meet and resolve the matter, no agreement has been reached.
Some names were allegedly dropped and fresh ones introduced in the list of officers in line for promotion.
Hours after the list of the 52 officers was released by the NPSC, Boinnet issued his own list that excluded eight officers. They include Kenya Police Service spokesman Charles Owino.
Others that were omitted include Mary Omari, Noah Mwivanda, Fred Situma, Rosemary Kuraru, Jackson Kazungu, Jebel Ngere and Gitari Njoka.
During the vetting of junior officers, the NPSC raised concerns about the high number of mobile money transactions made by police, terming it ‘economic sabotage’.
“Many officers have transactions of more than a million [shillings] a year ... these are ways of evading tax, which in the near future will cripple our economy,” Kavuludi said early this month. About 2,480 traffic officers across the country will be vetted. Kavuludi admitted there has been malpractice, especially in the promotion of officers. He said plans are underway to ensure officers are promoted on merit according to guidelines.