If changes to the National Police Service Act are approved,
the deputy inspectors general will also serve under a limited term of five
years non-renewable, positions they currently hold without fixed tenures.
The law would, however, not affect the tenure of current
Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja, 62. The current law sets a four-year
term from the date of appointment.
“If enacted, the law will not affect the current
Inspector General or Deputy Inspectors-General and would only to
appointments made after enactment of the legislation, as law cannot apply retrogressively,”
the report reads in part.
The committee said it found the proposals sound, saying Parliament has a mandate under the constitution to legislate on police
command.
In further amendments, the committee has proposed that
future inspectors general and their deputies must be serving police officers of
or above the rank of assistant inspector general.
The aim, the MPs say, is to ensure appointees have deep institutional
knowledge and command experience, a shift from the current law, which allows for
external appointments.
Even though the law allows for such appointments, all
the inspectors general who have served under the current constitution have been
drawn from the ranks of the police service.
Hillary Mutyambai and Joseph Boinnet, who served as IG under the Uhuru Kenyatta presidency, were drawn out of the National Intelligence Service.
However, they had earlier served in the police service.
Hussein Ali who served under President Mwai Kibaki was picked from the military where he was serving as brigadier.
The current IG Kanja served as commandant of the General
Service Unit before his appointment.
Even so, constitutional defenders have been rooting for
a professional to head the police service, ostensibly to free it from the grip
of the Executive.
There has, however, been no automatic movement of DIGs to
inspectors general; the current changes, therefore, are likely to ensure predictability
in the command as is the case with the Kenya Defence Forces.
“There is a need for the law to require that the IG and
DIG be of or above the rank of assistant inspector general, noting that this is
important for predictability, as is the case with KDF, and to allow for career
progression within the National Police Service,” the committee, chaired by Narok
West MP Gabriel Tongoyo, said.
In a further shakeup, officers who serve the post of IG
and are yet to hit 60 years of retirement age would be retained in the service.
Presently, they cannot be removed on account of age before
the expiry of their fixed four-year term.
The same with DIGs, who may be redeployed within the
service or removed from office upon attaining the age of retirement.
MPs argued that the changes would "balance the need to
retain experienced leadership and allow for succession planning," ensuring
appointees have the physical and mental capacity for the demanding roles.
“It is necessary that a nominee for appointment must be
a serving officer to ensure they understand the police command structure and
the functioning of the service.”
The bill also received support from several key
stakeholders, even as MPs argued that its enactment would ensure “persons appointed
to the offices will have the ability to handle demanding situations”.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority and
the Law Society of Kenya backed the age limit, aligning it with the
public service retirement age and regional best practices.
The National Police Service Commission supported
the cap for DIGs, noting their tenure is not constitutionally fixed like the
IG's.
The committee rejected other major stakeholder requests.
It dismissed calls from the NPSC, Ipoa, and LSK to
include detailed procedures for the removal of the IG and DIGs, arguing it
would unduly expand the bill's scope.
It also noted that the two-thirds gender rule in appointments
is already covered by existing law.
