Listen to This Article Enhance your reading experience by listening to this article.

Parliament has cleared the nominee for the position of Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja, setting the stage for his formal appointment to head the service.

Kanja will, however, have to face a joint sitting of the two Houses, National Assembly and the Senate for what is seen as a mere formality, before he is officially appointed to the position.

During his vetting by the joint committee of the National Assembly and Senate, Kanja defended his suitability to steer the National Police Service to the next level in a relatively explosive meeting conducted by the Committee on Administration and Internal Security of the national assembly and its Senate equal, committee on National Security, Defence and Foreign Relations last week.

The joint committee co-chaired by Gabriel Tongoyo and William Cheptumo released its findings report yesterday recommending Parliament to approve his nomination as the fifth IG has found no grounds to overturn his candidature.

Approval process

“The committees having considered the suitability, competence, experience and integrity of Mr Douglas Kanja Kirocho, CBS, OGW following the approval process and taking into account its observations and findings, pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution, Public Appointments (Parliamentary Approval) Act, (Cap.7F), the National Police Service Act, (Cap. 84), the National Assembly Standing Orders and the Senate Standing Orders, recommend that Parliament approves the nomination of Mr Douglas Kanja Kirocho CBS, OGW for appointment as the Inspector-General of the National Police Service,” the report reads.

According to the report, Kanja demonstrated knowledge of topical, administrative and technical issues relating to governance and has the requisite abilities, qualifications and experience to serve as the IG of the National Police Service.

A total of 30 petitions seeking to block Kanja’s appointment were submitted to the joint committee but only two of them were compliant with the Public Appointments (Parliamentary Approval) Act as they were statements on oath.

However, both petitions were dismissed after one of them was found to contain fictitious accusations on the professional conduct of Kanja while the other one on his competence for the job was found to be false as the incoming IG proved to the committee that he was fully qualified and fit to serve if approved by Parliament.

The office of the Inspector General of Police fell vacant on 12th June 2024 after the immediate former office holder Japheth Koome resigned from office prompting President William Ruto to nominate Kanja in an acting capacity.

Humble beginnings

Kanja’s journey to the helm of the police service stems from a humble beginning as a Police Constable to his current position.
His current position is a culmination of a long journey that started way back in 1985 when he joined the Kenya Police Force for the Basic Recruits Training Course at the then General Service Unit (GSU) Training School, now the National Police College – Embakasi ‘B’ Campus.

He started his primary education at Njatheini Primary School from 1972 to 1978, where he attained ‘A’ Level qualifications in his Certificate of Primary Education (CPE).

He then joined Sagana Technical School in 1979 and left in 1982 after sitting his ‘O’ Level Examinations, which he passed and secured admission to the prestigious Murang’a High School for his ‘A’ Level education from 1983 to 1984.

Kanja then joined the GSU, a paramilitary unit of the then Kenya Police Force in 1985 where he has risen steadily through the ranks. Having accomplished the initial Kenya Police Basic Recruits Training Course at the GSU Training School Embakasi, Kanja went on to train at the Armourer’s Technical Training School where he was awarded Armourer Class 1 Certificate after the three-year training.

In 1987, he returned to the GSU Training School – Embakasi for PC – CPL Promotion Course, and in 1990 for SOIP Promotion Course.

Promoted to next rank

In 2004, Kanja proceeded to the Kenya Police College – Kiganjo Higher Training Promotion (HTC) Course and was subsequently promoted to the rank of Acting Superintendent of Police.

Kanja’s professional training touches on every essential aspect of the policing profession. Having attended the Armourer’s Technical Training School from 1987 to 1990, he qualified to handle a wide variety of firearms.

This qualification earned him a series of promotions from Unit Armourer-GSU, Deputy Chief Armourer KPS Headquarters and finally, Chief Armourer KPS.

As Chief Armourer KPS, Kanja was responsible for the maintenance of an accurate up-to-date record and database of all arms and ammunition held by the NPS and other Government departments and agencies other than those held by the military.

It was during this time that the nationwide marking of state-owned firearms for ease of identification was rolled out.

As a former Chief Armourer, he has wide experience in stockpile management of small arms and light weapons in conjunction with the Regional Centre on Small Arms (RECSA) and the Kenya National Focal Point on Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons (KNFP), experience in destruction of recovered small arms and marking of all State-owned Firearms and Database Creation.