The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) urged President William Ruto on Wednesday to consider appointing a civilian Inspector General (IG) of Police who will act professionally and respect human rights.
The Commission issued a statement calling for competitive recruitment of the next IG and all other senior police officers in order to restore sanctity to the police service.
According to the KHRC, the next IG should be someone who can exercise independent command over the National Police Service (NPS) and perform tasks independently and professionally.
“The Maraga taskforce report recommends the reinstatement of competitive recruitment processes for the IG, Directors of Internal Affairs and Criminal Investigations, and Deputy Inspector Generals of KPS and AP,” KHRC stated.
“In line with these key qualifications, we urge the President to strongly also consider competitively appointing a civilian to head the National Police Service.”
The commission also clarified that the appointee must meet the key qualifications outlined in Section 11 of the National Police Service Act.
These include being a Kenyan citizen, graduating from a Kenyan-accredited university, demonstrating professional distinction, and meeting the requirements of Chapter Six of the Constitution.
According to the lobby group, the IG should have at least fifteen years of senior management experience and knowledge of criminal justice or policy development and implementation.
“The Presidential nomination of the next Inspector General will either raise the bar for professional and human rights-based policing or lower it even further,” the commission argued.
Meanwhile, the human rights organization called for an expedited investigation into police officers’ alleged harassment of demonstrators.
“We strongly urge the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI), and the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) to adhere to their mandates and urgently investigate and prosecute police officers and their commanders who have violated Kenyans’ rights during the ongoing protests,” KHRC stated.
“It remains a matter of public concern that no single officer, as yet, has been arrested for the arbitrary arrests, abductions or unlawful killing of Kenyans in recent weeks.”
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