Kanja off the hook as lawmakers engineer radical police reforms

The National Assembly Committee on Administration and Internal Security has, in a report tabled in Parliament, recommended the approval of the National Police Service (Amendment) Bill, 2025, sponsored by Teso North MP Oku Kaunya.

If changes to the National Police Service Act are approved, the deputy inspectors general will also serve under a limited term of five years non-renewable, positions they currently hold without fixed tenures.

The law would, however, not affect the tenure of current Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja, 62. The current law sets a four-year term from the date of appointment.

“If enacted, the law will not affect the current Inspector General or Deputy Inspectors-General and would only to appointments made after enactment of the legislation, as law cannot apply retrogressively,” the report reads in part.

The committee said it found the proposals sound, saying Parliament has a mandate under the constitution to legislate on police command.

In further amendments, the committee has proposed that future inspectors general and their deputies must be serving police officers of or above the rank of assistant inspector general.

The aim, the MPs say, is to ensure appointees have deep institutional knowledge and command experience, a shift from the current law, which allows for external appointments.

Even though the law allows for such appointments, all the inspectors general who have served under the current constitution have been drawn from the ranks of the police service.

Hillary Mutyambai and Joseph Boinnet, who served as IG under the Uhuru Kenyatta presidency, were drawn out of the National Intelligence Service.

However, they had earlier served in the police service.

Hussein Ali who served under President Mwai Kibaki was picked from the military where he was serving as brigadier.

The current IG Kanja served as commandant of the General Service Unit before his appointment.

Even so, constitutional defenders have been rooting for a professional to head the police service, ostensibly to free it from the grip of the Executive.

There has, however, been no automatic movement of DIGs to inspectors general; the current changes, therefore, are likely to ensure predictability in the command as is the case with the Kenya Defence Forces.

“There is a need for the law to require that the IG and DIG be of or above the rank of assistant inspector general, noting that this is important for predictability, as is the case with KDF, and to allow for career progression within the National Police Service,” the committee, chaired by Narok West MP Gabriel Tongoyo, said.

In a further shakeup, officers who serve the post of IG and are yet to hit 60 years of retirement age would be retained in the service.

Presently, they cannot be removed on account of age before the expiry of their fixed four-year term.

The same with DIGs, who may be redeployed within the service or removed from office upon attaining the age of retirement.

MPs argued that the changes would "balance the need to retain experienced leadership and allow for succession planning," ensuring appointees have the physical and mental capacity for the demanding roles.

“It is necessary that a nominee for appointment must be a serving officer to ensure they understand the police command structure and the functioning of the service.”

The bill also received support from several key stakeholders, even as MPs argued that its enactment would ensure “persons appointed to the offices will have the ability to handle demanding situations”.

The Independent Policing Oversight Authority and the Law Society of Kenya backed the age limit, aligning it with the public service retirement age and regional best practices.

The National Police Service Commission supported the cap for DIGs, noting their tenure is not constitutionally fixed like the IG's.

The committee rejected other major stakeholder requests.

It dismissed calls from the NPSC, Ipoa, and LSK to include detailed procedures for the removal of the IG and DIGs, arguing it would unduly expand the bill's scope.

It also noted that the two-thirds gender rule in appointments is already covered by existing law.