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President William Ruto has nominated acting Inspector General Douglas Kanja as the next police boss.

This and other changes come as police agencies are under intense scrutiny for their conduct in the past four weeks of youth-led protests against the government.

If approved by Parliament, Kanja, who was the deputy inspector general of the Kenya Police Service, will succeed Japhet Koome, who resigned on July 12.

To his colleagues and former fellow members of the National Police Service Commission (NPSC), Kanja’s appointment did not come as a surprise.

During a November 2012 vetting to establish the suitability and competency of officers, the NPSC panel, which was led by Johnston Kavuludi, commented in its report that Kanja was destined for a higher office given his level of interpretation of police issues and the law.

“He is a suitable candidate for promotion to the rank of [deputy inspector general] and with the view to being appointed the [inspector general] in future due to his level of understanding of the law, police reforms and general demeanour,” the report said.

’Bright future’

The President also yesterday appointed two deputy inspectors general for the Kenya Police Service and the Administration Police Service.

Eliud Lagat, a former commandant of the General Service Unit who was acting deputy inspector general for the Kenya Police, was named the boss that service, while Gilbert Masengeli, a former head of the Special Operations Group, took over at the Administrative Police.

Masengeli succeeded Noor Gabow, who was moved to the Public Service.

“Pending the consideration of the nomination of … Kanja as Inspector-General of the National Police Service by both Houses of Parliament, the Head of State has, in accordance with Section 16 of the National Police Service Act, 2011, designated … Masengeli … as the acting Inspector-General of the National Police Service,” the statement from State House said.

Both Lagat and Masengeli also scored highly during their vetting by the NPSC.

The vetting team described Masengeli at the time as a “young dynamic police officer with a bright future given the competencies he gained from specialised training in Israel and within the country”.

Kavuludi also wrote: “In him, I see a future [deputy inspector general] and a man who can function anywhere within the security circles.”

On Langat, the NPSC said he exhibited special talents about bomb disposal. “There could never be a better person on matters relating to intricate security issues of the service. He is a man with a future in developing the police service to higher levels of performance.”

Stellar career

The role of deputy inspector general involves commanding, controlling and administering the service under the direction of the inspector general (IG).

IG-nominee Kanja has had a stellar career spanning nearly four decades. He was previously commandant of the GSU for five years, deputy commandant of the GSU for three years, county police commander in charge of Kilifi County, deputy commandant of the Kenya Airports Police Unit, chief armourer at the Police Headquarters and deputy chief armourer at Vigilance House, among other positions.

The IG is appointed by the President for a four-year non-renewable term, and exercises independent command of the service.

Kanja becomes the fifth IG under the Constitution adopted in 2010.

The first IG was David Kimaiyo, who was succeeded by Joseph Boinnet in December 2014, just hours after a dawn massacre in Mandera that claimed 36 lives.

Police reforms

Boinnet served for four years and oversaw the restructuring of the police service. He was replaced by Hillary Mutyambai in March 2019.

When President William Ruto took office, Mutyambai resigned, leading to the appointment of Japhet Koome.

Mutyambai was to officially retire in April 2023 but had to leave prematurely after being accused by President Ruto of not only being incompetent but also partisan.

On June 30, 2022, Ruto told delegates from the International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute that he did not have faith in the police service and described Mutyambai as an incompetent official.

The interviewees for the position at the Kenya police were Coast Region Police Commander George Sedah, former Rift Valley regional commander Tom Odero and Vincent Makokha. Gilbert Masengeli, Margaret Karanja, James Kamau and Masaoud Mwinyi were interviewed for the post with Administration police.