Puzzle of police officer transferred to three counties in one month
A traffic police officer inspects a public service vehicle at a roadblock in this picture taken on April 19, 2019. A traffic police corporal has sued for being transferred to three counties within a month.
The Nyeri Labour Relations Court has allowed a female traffic police officer to stay at her workstation in Kirinyaga, pending the hearing of a suit in which she accuses the National Police Service Commission of irregularly transferring her to three counties in one month.
In the orders issued by Justice Onesmus Makau, the Inspector General of Police and his deputy have been restrained from further deploying Corporal Sicily Namu to another police station until the suit is determined by the court.
In the case, Ms Namu through lawyer Wahome Gikonyo, says she has been working in the security forces for 16 years, since June 31, 2007.
She says the transfers meted out as disciplinary actions against her began on January 23 when she was redeployed from the Nakuru-Naivasha Police station to Kirinyaga-Kerugoya with immediate effect.
“The petitioner reported to her new workstation after a week on January 30, only to be issued with another transfer letter a day after, asking her to instead report to Ongata Rongai constituency in Kajiado County,” says Mr Gikonyo in the court documents.
In Rongai, the police officer was assigned to the Kambi ya Moto Police Station.
Two weeks later on February 13, she received another redeployment letter requiring her to report to the Central Police Headquarters in Nyeri town.
In the petition, Ms Namu tells the court that the speedy redeployments are being used as disciplinary measures owing to the nature in which they are being carried out.
NPS regulations
“The commission has not sanctioned the transfers and contrary to the NPS regulations, I have also not been given an opportunity to be heard and neither have I received any explanation for the redeployments,” she says.
The traffic officer says that the relocations have adversely affected the continuity of her children's education in primary school.
Currently, Ms Namu says she is still working at the Kirinyaga-Kerugoya police station and has not executed the transfer letters asking her to move to Kajiado and Nyeri counties.
Justice Makau has certified the matter urgent while ordering the NPS, and the IG and his deputy to reply to the petition by April 11.
The suit will be heard on April 12.
