Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah has gone to court and challenged the appointment of Douglas Kanja as Inspector General of police, saying the process was not competitive enough.
Omtatah, together with Eliud Karanja and Magare Gikenyi, appeared before Justice Bahati Mwamuye to argue that Kanja was not the best suited for the post.
The petitioners complained against amendments in section 86 of the Security Laws Amendment Act, SLAA.
These amendments altered section 12 of the National Police Service Act, which removed the competitive recruitment of the IG position.
“In its place, the president now appoints the IG using undisclosed criteria,” the petitioners said. They elaborated that appointment by the president only needs to receive approval from Parliament.
According to the petitioners, this new method alters the appointment into a political process. “There is no professional input, and it lessens public confidence,” they added.
The petitioners also held that these changes undermined the independence of the police force. “This has resulted in systemic corruption, criminality, and violation of human rights within the police service,” they said.
Justice Mwamuye certified the matter as urgent and issued orders. The judge directed the respondents to immediately collect and preserve all documents relating to the appointment of Kanja held by public bodies that were involved in the appointment.
The AG, National Assembly, Senate, IPOA, National Police Service Commission, Kenya National Commission for Human Rights, and Kanja himself are listed as respondents.
What’s more, Justice Mwamuye directed that the petitioners serve the application on all the respondents since the matter was scheduled to be heard physically on 15th October.
