Happening Now: Interviews for next IEBC chairperson begin
Inspector-General of Police Douglas Kanja.
Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja will today (Monday 17) hold a meeting with police commanders and officials from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission in the latest attempt to find ways of eliminating corruption in the police service.
The meeting will be held at the Administration Police College in Embakasi.
Mr Kanja has invited EACC to among other things help the National Police Service to audit its systems and processes, identify the corruption loopholes and recommend ways of sealing the leakages.
The police commanders from the regions and police formations are expected to help the EACC with information on the corruption in their regions and ways of dealing with the same.
“This is the first time that the police are auditing their systems and processes. We want to deal with matters corruption in the service with finality,” Mr Kanja told the Nation on phone.
On Saturday, Mr Kanja who spoke in Nyeri said his administration was automating the police service as part of the efforts to deal with corruption.
In particular, Mr Kanja is keen on the traffic department where his focus will be for motorists to start paying instant fines and, installation of traffic control cameras as a wider plan to deal with the corruption in the traffic department.
In a past interview with the Nation, Mr Kanja cited reforming the police service among his priorities.
Mr Kanja said he would be implementing some of the recommendations in the Justice David Maraga taskforce report that was handed over to the Government.
In reforming the traffic department, the taskforce recommended that officers who are serving or who previously served in the traffic department be transferred and permanently locked out of a proposed Traffic Control Unit.
Injecting fresh blood
The recommendation, the report states, is aimed at injecting fresh blood and confidence in the department that has for years been perceived to be the most corrupt unit of the police service.
“All officers under the current Traffic Police Unit, and those who have previously served under the Unit should not be redeployed to the new Traffic Control Unit or any other traffic management duties or functions “the report recommends.
The taskforce report, which the current police leadership has committed to implement, outlined a raft of measures that the police chiefs must undertake as part of the reforms process.
Top on the list of to-do things is dealing with the corruption in the traffic department.
The report warns that failure to reform the police department will lead to deaths on the roads and allow free movement of drugs and weapons into the country.
“Reforms in the traffic department should be of serious concern and needs urgent “warning that if the traffic department is not reformed, the transport sector will continue experiencing accidents because of non-adherence to the traffic rules.
To emphasise how deep the corruption in the traffic department runs, the taskforce noted that an internal Anti-Corruption Strategy of 2016, had singled out the traffic department as the most corrupt unit of the police.
The report further revealed that the corruption in the traffic department cuts across the regular members in the unit.
From the junior police officers who mount roadblocks on the roads, to the senior police chiefs sitting in the corner offices, they (police) all benefit from bribes collected by the rogue traffic cops.
Said Maraga: “The corruption allegations against the Traffic Police Unit are deeply rooted to the extent that high-ranking officers in the unit obtain a ‘cut’ from the bribes collected.
The report said senior police officers sanction the collection of bribes. As a result, the public had lost confidence in the police traffic department hence the need for reforms.
Mr Maraga pointed an accusing finger at top commanders in the police for failing to take action on officers who have been implicated in corruption.
Failure by police chiefs to prosecute corrupt officers has given credence to claims that some of the police bosses were involved in the corruption.
“This very fact points to leadership failure or possible complicity of the NPS leadership in this issue of corruption “
Traffic department
The taskforce has made several recommendations to clean up the traffic department.
The report recommends that DIG should direct that the traffic officers should be supervised by police station commanders (OCS).
This would mean that the station commanders (OCS) would organise officers to be deployed to perform traffic duties.
The station commanders will then be responsible for supervising and coordinating traffic bases within their respective areas of operations.
In the interview last year, Kanja said his focus is to improve service delivery by the police. The IG said 700 police officers in the rank of Chief Inspector of Police have been deployed to be station commanders after undergoing leadership training.
These officers, named Ideal OCS have undergone special training including human rights and public relations. The IG is banking these officers on to drive change in the police stations across the country.
“We want to bring in a new culture in the police where the customers get the right services at the police station. If the officers at the station can discharge their mandate well, they need the public to seek higher interventions on matters that can be resolved at the station level,” Mr Kanja said.
What has been done so far:
In an attempt to fight corruption in the traffic department, DIG Eliud Langat last year made changes in the top and mid-level management in the traffic department.
Four senior police bosses were affected by the changes in the traffic department in line with the recommendations by David Maraga taskforce report.
The taskforce had recommended that all officers who have served in the traffic department be banished to other units within the security agency.
Deputy Inspector-General of Police Eliud Lagat named Fredrick Ochieng’ as the new traffic commandant, as he transferred traffic bosses in Pangani, Kilimani and Buruburu stations.
Ochieng’, who until his appointment served at the National Counter-terrorism Centre in Karen will now take over from Mary Wangui Omari.
Counter-terrorism centre
Ms Omari is now headed to the Karen-based counter-terrorism centre following the mini reshuffle.
The Maraga-led taskforce has recommended that officers who are serving or who previously served in the traffic department be transferred and permanently locked out of a proposed Traffic Control Unit.
The recommendation, the report states, is aimed at injecting fresh blood and confidence in the department that has for years been perceived to be the most corrupt unit of the police service.
“All officers under the current Traffic Police Unit, and those who have previously served under the Unit should not be redeployed to the new Traffic Control Unit or any other traffic management duties or functions “the report recommends.
Several mid-level traffic commanders in Nairobi have also been moved.
Among those affected by the changes include traffic bosses from Pangani, Kilimani and BuruBuru police stations. The affected officers have been transferred to SGR offices in Nairobi where they will now perform other police duties.
Mr Lagat told Nation.Africa that the changes are aimed at strengthening operations in the traffic department in line with the ongoing police reforms.
