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Thursday, June 22, 2023 –Blow to Inspector General of Police IG Japhet Koome after the Labour Court sitting in Nairobi stopped the recent promotion of more than 500 police officers.
In the promotion was also Nairobi Regional Commander Adamson Bungei who had been moved elsewhere as the new Assistant Inspector General of Police AIG, an opportunity that attracted new responsibilities and authority within the service.
Making the ruling today Thursday June 22, Justice Byrum Ongayo stated that the Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome overstepped his mandate by not involving the National Police Service Commission’s NPSC in making the changes.
The ruling also pointed out how IG Koome had been politically motivated to carry out the promotions that have since created bad blood between the IG and the NPSC Chairman Eliud Kinuthia.
This ruling pushes Koome at a precarious position even after he argued that he had the Constitutional authority to make the promotions and demotions when required.
The IG recently promoted 514 senior police officers on Monday, June 12, 2023, in a memo to all stations countrywide.
These officers included 163 superintendents, 214 assistant superintendents, 127 inspectors, and 110 sergeants.
He would then argue that the promotions were made in recognition of the officers’ long and meritorious service to the police department.
But in an immediate protest, on Tuesday, June 13, the National Police Service Commission NPSC opposed the promotions, arguing that they had been done illegally since the officers had not been taken through interview process as required by law.
The matter saw Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki intervene with orders that the conflicting roles would be amicably settled with the help of the office of the Attorney General.
He added that the Kenyan Constitution was to blame for the ongoing supremacy battle between the two offices.
