Press Release

POLICE VETTING LACKS THOROUGHNESS; IT IS A WHITEWASHING EXERCISE

Nairobi, Kenya Friday 6 March 2015/..The National Police Service Commission (NPSC) has not exhibited the thoroughness of vetting police officers. While the source of massive wealth is of great importance in the vetting process, the Commission is falling short in connecting the methods of acquisition of this wealth to unearthing the professional incompetence, culpability and complicity of police officers in tackling spiralling crime.

So far, the Commission has disastrously failed in its mandate to conduct thorough vetting in order to clean the police service. It is conducting a whitewashing exercise in the name of vetting.

The unnerving truth about policing failure is not featuring prominently in the vetting. The long-term consolidation of the police as a professional, effective, and apolitical institution requires implementing far reaching reforms that would address the dysfunctionality of the institution, integrity of the personnel; accountability and performance conduct of officers, changing law enforcement professional competence and improving the welfare of the officers.

The police reform processes contemplated in the Constitution is slow, facing resistance and is mostly being sabotaged. Without the Commissions will to stand firm and drive police reforms strong domestic constituency for major police reform, these processes may founder. Despite its constitutional independence and powers of superintendence, control and direction of the Police Service Commission seems state compliant. It is fickle and feeble in executing its mandate.

Leadership is key to the character and effectiveness of any institution. Whatever the quality of the governing laws and internal regulations, the tone and comportment of an institution is moulded on a daily basis by its leaders. Developing effective civilian leadership has proven to be a hard task in most police reform processes to date. Poor police leadership or the lack of leadership has a rapid negative impact on the morale and effectiveness of the entire institution.

Recruiting police leadership internally by promotions through the ranks is deeply problematic during large-scale reform processes. In situations where an old force is being reformed and/or enlarged, the leadership- often corrupt, authoritarian, and politicized- is the most problematic. Old police leadership will resist change.

Several attempts are being made to twist the provisions of the Constitution to suit temporary convenience. That however will not do. Express provisions of the Constitution, the Supreme law of the land, ought not to be sacrificed at the altar of expediency. The powers to appoint a person to hold office in the Service were reserved for the Commission. In this regard, the Commission has to restructure and establish offices in the National Police Service that would see drastic changes in the character, command and organization of the Service.

The Commission is required by law to advertise and recruit competitively and transparently, officers who qualify within the Service to fill in all those positions. The Commission has

constitutional powers to recruit by merit, the holder of the office of Inspector General of National Police Service as the highest office in the Service. The nomination process of Joseph Boinnet is unconstitutional.

Signed, Ndung'u Wainaina Executive Director