Nairobi Top Cops on the Hot Seat as Police Vetting Begins

First to appear before the National Police Service Commission vetting panel was Abdi Mohammed Sheikh, a Rapid Deployment Unit Deputy Commanding Officer who has served in Administration Police Service for 35 years.

Speaking before the commission, Abdi denied claims of maliciously and unfairly sacking nine officers from his unit, saying they deserved disciplinary action after they defied orders and even went to a bar with firearms.

Next to appear before the commission was Henry Onyango, an AP Commandant who has been in the service for 33 years.

Onyango was questioned on his financial records with questions being raised on suspicious deposits in his account.

Onyango defended himself saying he only has one bank account, having closed the rest, adding that he has bank statements from the other accounts that would absolve him from any allegations of corruptions.

NPSC Woes

The exercised has been marred with controversy, with Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery rubbishing the process and terming it a waste of time.

“How can you vet someone for a job they have been doing for 30 years?” He posed

“Those vetting the police do not know anything about the police force so it is a case of a wrong person vetting the right person,” he quipped.

Nkaissery further added that it is logical for police officers to have gathered wealth from savings since they have been in the service for many years.

The twists in the process were further complicated when NPSC chair Johnston Kavuludi was adversely mentioned in the Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission (EACC) report linking him to corruption, with some MPs calling for his resignation over the matter.

Kavuludi was accused of misappropriation of funds and failing to account for money paid to him during foreign trips.

The embattled chair was, however, notably absent from Wednesday’s proceedings, with commissioner Murshi Mohammed chairing the sitting.

The vetting exercise, which will see police officers in the ranks of ASPS, SPS and SSPS from Nairobi vetted, will run until June 17, 2015.

By Benjamin Wafula