Former Chief Justice David Maraga has turned the spotlight on Kenya’s top police commanders, accusing Inspector General Douglas Kanja and DCI boss Mohamed Amin of illegally remaining in office after reaching the mandatory retirement age.
He has released the long-awaited National Taskforce on Police Reforms report, nearly three years after it was handed to President William Ruto.
The report was submitted to the President on November 16, 2023, but remained unreleased until Monday, when Maraga made good on his threat to publish it after giving the President a seven-day ultimatum.
But the release of the report has been overshadowed by Maraga’s accusations against Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja and Director of Criminal Investigations Mohamed Amin.
Maraga claims the two senior police commanders have surpassed the mandatory public-service retirement age of 60 without meeting the conditions required for an extension of service.
He argued that neither officer was appointed through an open competitive process after reaching the retirement age and therefore claimed they were occupying the positions illegally.
Maraga called for the relevant positions to be advertised and filled through a competitive and transparent process.
The taskforce report also raises serious concerns about corruption and political influence in police recruitment. It says recruitment has been affected by corruption, cronyism, nepotism and political influence, with recruitment slots allegedly being sold for as much as KSh600,000.
To address the problem, the taskforce recommended the automation of the recruitment process, raising the minimum academic qualification from KCSE D+ to C-, increasing the minimum recruitment age from 18 to 21 years, and introducing psychometric and aptitude tests.
It also recommended that the Auditor-General conduct a special audit after every national police recruitment exercise.
The taskforce proposed increasing police training from the current nine months to at least 12 months for constables and 15 months for cadets.
On remuneration, it recommended a 40 per cent increase in basic pay for the lowest-ranking officers, with progressively smaller increases for senior ranks.
The taskforce further recommended reforms to police uniforms, the structure of the police air wing and the traffic department.
Maraga has warned that failure to implement the recommendations could undermine police independence and accountability and leave the country vulnerable to partisan policing and political violence.
