Agency calls for fresh police recruitment

A human rights commission wants results of police recruitment for National Youth Service (NYS) Headquarters nullified over claims of corruption. Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) yesterday asked the National Police Service and the Inspector General of Police to carry out a fresh process in an accountable and transparent manner.

KNCHR said although cases of bribery were not as rampant as in the past, recruits were asked to pay up to Sh70,000 in some centres for them to receive acceptance letters.

In its monitoring exit report on the process, the commission observed worrying trends in gender parity, with less than a third female recruits being accepted.

Nullify results

“The KNCHR brings to the attention of the Inspector General and the National Police Service Commission that this is a centre that has historically had issues since 2014. We call for the nullification of the results of this centre and ask that the process be restarted in a manner which is transparent and accountable,” said KNCHR Chairperson Kagwiria Mbogori.

The commission said despite the NYS centre recruiting only 80 police officers, the exercise went on past midnight against the stipulated recruitment regulations.

According to the National Police Service, the recruitment process was to be conducted between 8am and 5pm.

Ms Mbogori said only a few recruitment centres, among them Athi River KMC, Pan Paper, Webuye, Msambweni, Garissa Primary School, Kitui Secondary School, Uhuru Stadium Kwale and Ngong Stadium were reported to have ended the exercise at the stipulated time. “At the NYS recruitment centre Nairobi, our monitor reported that the physical tests were carried out at 5.54pm in the evening despite the fact that the recruitment ought to have ended by that time,” she said.