Police must work hard to regain public trust

NAIROBI: The guilty verdict and sentencing of Joshua Waiganjo to a five-year jail term by a Naivasha court provides only the tip of the iceberg. There is more than meets the eye in the police imposter’s saga and the National Police Service Commission should go beyond the court action and carry out a thorough audit of the police service.

Mr Waiganjo came to public limelight in 2013 following his arrest in Naivasha for impersonating a police officer. And while he retains the right to appeal, his jailing raises more questions than answers. It speaks of a police service without effective structures and controls. Did the man who Mr Waiganjo deputised know his true identity? Mr Waiganjo could not simply have presented himself to the Rift Valley Provincial Police Officer as his deputy without an official posting letter from police headquarters in Nairobi. Who, then, at Vigilance House knew about Mr Waiganjo, but kept quiet about it?