Kenya fires 302 police officers

NAIROBI. – The National Police Service Commission has sacked 302 police officers who failed to appear for vetting.

The officers’ ranks range from constable to chief inspector.

Chairman of the NPSC, Johnston Kavuludi said the decision to dismiss the officers was arrived at during a board meeting that was held at the Commission on June 7.

“These include officers who refused to appear before the vetting panel, those who failed to appear, those that neglected the commission’s calls to appear and also those that did not submit the necessary documents to the commission,” Mr Kavuludi said.

He said the commission had no choice but to dismiss the officers because the vetting exercise was a mandatory procedure in ‘separating the chaff from the wheat’.

“Some of these officers did not even communicate to the commission at all,” Mr Kavuludi said, adding that the officers will be considered to have left the service voluntarily.

The Commission’s vetting panel is at Kisumu’s Tom Mboya College to vet police officers from the traffic department.

Vetting of police officers has been ongoing for close to three years and the exercise has seen the dismissal of several officers who were found to have been corrupt, incompetent or failed to uphold human rights and dignity in the course of duty.

The exercise is meant to restore the public’s confidence in the service mandated to secure people and property and enforce the law.

It is conducted in accordance to the provisions of the National Police Service Act’s Section 7 which stipulates the need to assess officer’s competence. – Daily Nation.