Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai has barred police officers from raising their complaints using social media.
In a statement seen by the Star, the IG said he had noted with concern the rising cases of officers using social media to air their grievances, without exhausting the existing official channels within the service.
The statement signed by Director Criminal Investigations Mwangi Wanderi said that disciplinary action will be taken against any officer found abusing the use of social media or sharing information with the press without authority.
“Chapter 24, Section 55 of the service standing orders prohibits information transmission by members of the service on social media unless they can clearly be linked to the conduct of official business.”
“It is also an offence against discipline under section 6(w) Chapter 30 of the SSO CMM to disclose or convey any information on police matters without proper authority,” Mutyambai said.
This comes in wake of increased incidences of police officers expressing their frustrations via social media.
One such case occurred in May, where a female officer was asking that her resignation letter be accepted over frustrations.
In a video that went viral, the officer said she had written resignation letters but they were yet to reach the Inspector General.
"Sir, kindly allow me to resign peacefully from the police officer post because I can thrive elsewhere. Even if it means, resigning without pay, I will not mind," she said.
She noted that such frustrations in the police force were leading to the deaths of officers who either committed suicide or resorted to killing others.
"I just want a chance to resign peacefully. I have attached several letters meant for the IG but they never get to him. That is why police officers get frustrated to a point of committing suicide or killing themselves, something I cannot do," she said.
