Row over plan to hire county police chiefs

By Mwaniki Munuhe

Efforts to hire 94 county commanders threaten to open up a fresh political split within the regular police service, The Standard On Saturday has learned.

Divisions are growing among senior officers over whether to apply for the Assistant Inspector General positions before the May 28 deadline.

Potential applicants feel under pressure to “take sides” in the power struggle between the National Police Service Commission and their senior commanders. Some senior police officers in the regular police have threatened to boycott the exercise in solidarity with their superiors who are unhappy with the way it is being carried out.

A controversy has been raging over the powers and responsibilities of the Inspector General of Police, his two deputies and the Commission, acting as their employer. It centres on operational structures, officer deployment and disciplinary issues.

The 94 positions — 47 in the regular service and another 47 in the Administration Police force — were advertised earlier this week. Since no intermediate positions were also advertised, it appears as though they are to be filled by officers reporting to the Deputy Inspector General.

Police service bosses, who say they were not consulted, say the proposed structure is unworkable because too many officers would report to one person. The NPSC has proposed a new rank of Senior Assistant Inspector General between the 94 Assistant Inspectors General and the Deputy Inspectors General for easier co-ordination between the field officers and the police bosses.

It is not clear how many positions they will create at this rank and when they will be filled. Sources we spoke to say police commanders had proposed a structure for the regular and Administration Police that grouped county commands into six or seven larger units, loosely based on past administrative provinces.