Western MPs blame Masengeli's woes on succession battle

Acting Inspector General of Police Gilbert Masengeli. [File, Standard]

A section of Western leaders have claimed that there is a well-choreographed scheme to block acting Inspector General of Police Gilbert Masengeli from taking over as the substantive police boss.

This comes days after the High Court sentenced Masengeli to six months in prison after finding him guilty of contempt of court.

Justice Lawrence Mugambi on Friday sentenced the police boss for snubbing six court summons.

Lurambi MP Titus Khamala and his Bumula counterpart Jack Wamboka speaking separately argued that Douglas Kanja, 62, who was nominated as Inspector General of Police has already reached retirement age and there are efforts to lock out Masengeli from heading the National Police Service (NPS).

Speaking at a funeral in Lurambi, Khamala said there are people in government who are against the broad-based government and were using the courts to block the acting police IG who has good academic credentials from becoming the next police boss.

"What I know is that Masengeli is young and well-schooled and we have forces that are overworking, to make sure that he does not occupy that office," he said.
The Lurambi MP argued that when the NPS was taken to court it was suspicious that one person was being made to take responsibility for police actions during the anti-government protests.

"If NPS was taken to court, why is it that it is only one person being followed, and yet he has been represented by the Attorney General, a lawyer, and even Masengeli's deputy why should it be Masengeli? Moving forward let people be accountable for their sins even after leaving office because Masengeli is carrying the sins of other people, by the time the protests and abductions were happening, he was not the Inspector General," said Khamala.

"I don't support impunity or people who disobey court orders I know Masengeli will find an angle through a judicial review to appeal and he will be able to get out of the situation," he added
Wamboka said Masengeli is not responsible for the abductions and killings during the anti-government protests.

The Bumula MP argued that the person to be held accountable for abductions that happened during the protests is the former IG Japhet Koome and not the acting IG.
"Masengeli is being used as a scapegoat, it is Koome who was the IG during the protests and he should be held accountable for the abductions and lives lost during that period, we are asking for personal responsibility," he said.

Speaking during the issuance of driving licenses to bodaboda riders in Bumula on Friday Wamboka blamed the acting IG's woes on witch hunt which was meant to deprive Western region of key positions in government citing what happened to former Deputy Chief Justice Nancy Barasa.
"We as the Western community are not going to allow our own to be drugged through the mud for something he hasn't done, they did the same to our daughter Nancy Baraza and ruined her career and it won't be business as usual," he said.

On the Adani-Jomo Kenyatta International Airport deal, the DAP-K legislator challenged the government to come out clear and explain to Kenyans why they want to impose the agreement on them despite the Adani group operations being rejected in other countries.

Wamboka disclosed that the cost of renovating the airport by the Adani group is way too high compared to what other countries like Ethiopia are using to construct new airports.

"Kenyans should not be fooled, that Adani company has bad reputation worldwide, I don't understand why the Kenya Kwanza government wants to tolerate them," he said.