Parliament invites Kenyans submit views on Police IG nominee Japhet Koome ahead of vetting
Japhet Koome, Commandant of the National Police Service College, Kiganjo. President William Ruto has nominated him as Inspector-General of Police.
Kenyans can now go ahead and submit their views on the suitability of Japhet Koome, the man nominated by President William Ruto to be the next Inspector-General of Police. Members of the public have 10 days to submit a memorandum of the same Parliament, a memo from the House Clerk says.
According to a notice signed by National Assembly Clerk Serah Kioko, interested members of the public can submit their presentations ahead of a vetting process by a joint team comprising the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Affairs and the Senate Standing Committee on National Security, Defence and Foreign Relations.
She revealed that he will be vetted by House committees on Tuesday November 8, 2022.
How to submit your views
According to the notice, if interested, you can submit your views in written for with supporting evidence to the Clerk of the National Assembly.
"The presentations may be forwarded to the Clerk of the National Assembly or the Clerk of Senate, P.O. Box 41842-00100, Nairobi; hand delivered to the Offices of the Clerks, Main Parliament Buildings, Nairobi; or emailed to [email protected] and [email protected]," the noticed said, adding they would need to be received by Thursday November 3 at 5pm, five days before Mr Koome's grilling session.
Mr Koome’s name was forwarded to Parliament for vetting by President Ruto last week, following his nomination on September 29 to succeed outgoing IG Hilary Mutyambai who proceeded on terminal leave over health reasons.
The nominee, a former Nairobi County Police Commander, is the current Commandant of the National Police Service College, Kiganjo.
Process of appointing Police IG
Article 245(2)(a) of the Constitution provides that the Inspector-General is appointed by the President with the approval of Parliament. The name is then be forwarded to Parliament for vetting.
Thereafter, Parliament shall, within 14 days of when it first meets after receiving the name of the nominee, consider his or her suitability.
The committees, having conducted the vetting hearings, will submit a joint report to the respective Houses.
The nominee will either be approved or rejected, and the Speaker of the National Assembly shall notify the President of the decision of Parliament.
“Unless otherwise provided in any law, a committee shall consider a nomination and table its report in the relevant House for debate and decision within 28 days from the date on which the notification of nomination was given...," states section 8 of the Public Appointments (Parliamentary Approval) Act, 2011.
“If, after expiry of the period for consideration specified in section 8, Parliament has neither approved nor rejected a nomination of a candidate, the candidate shall be deemed to have been approved," adds Section 9.
