By John Gerezani

The Prisons department is going through very interesting moments sometimes bordering on the hilarious.

The dust raised by the recent promotion exercise is yet to settle but that has not stopped endless speculation and anxiety regarding the next phase of the programme granted that all this is happening in a transitional period as the department gears for a new administrative structure in line with the Constitution.      

It must have been daunting for the normally reserved Izzo to go public to answer the numerous complaints that had arisen out of the neti promotions going to the extent of offering to personally address those grievances. The jury is out on how it will end.

Focus has now turned to the question of where and when the promotional courses are going to take place. Will there be staggered training over a couple of months at PSTC or will everyone report to Ruiru at the same time with the Chief Officers being routed to Manyani/ Magadi and the NCOs taking their paces at the college? 

Since the Salo is expected to be backdated to July 2011 when is the boom coming and will it affect the training programme? Those are the questions top most on everyone’s lips at the moment.  

Did l mention structures? Izzo is behind other gava departments in appointing County Commanders as Provincial Commanders are eased out or re-deployed. Eyes are all out on how lzzo will play with regional, gender and minorities balance as he makes the crucial 47 appointments.

entitlement  

One preponderant view is that the dude has a perfect opportunity to break with tradition and re-energize his reform agenda which many a time has been held hostage by vested interests personified in a cabal of conservative old guards who take their vaunted positions with a sense of entitlement.

I must advise Izzo that pouring new wine into old wineskins will take the department back to the analogous and antiquated management practices which gave neti a bad name in the past.

In making the appointments lzzo must be guided by merit as he picks chaps who will take neti to the next level. It is an open secret that neti ranks highly in the number of degree/diploma holders within the disciplined forces and its from this pool that forward looking leaders should be picked.

Having said that, Izzo must also be alive to the political booby traps ahead as he deftly weaves his magic wand in making those appointments.

It must be stated that not all County Commanders will earn the same salary and neither will they be of the same rank. 

It would be foolhardy to pay a one neti County Commander in Mandera the same salary as the Mombasa, Nairobi, Nakuru or Kisumu County Commanders with their multiple major netis.

I also see Kiambu County politicians staking a claim on Kamiti which has for long been administered from Nairobi though it lies in Kiambu.

The other begging question is when the COIs will be promoted to the numerous vacant positions of superintendents. The lot cleared the physicals at Ruiru over a month ago but are yet to go to KIA for the final phase of the promotional course before the PSC rubberstamps (pun intended) them to their new ranks. As I file this there is only one SP in the entire country who unfortunately was not promoted with colleagues to the next rank because of some reasons which I’ll write about soon.  

Did l say hilarious at the beginning? Does Izzo know that some dudes and dudettes are already scheming for his job but simply don’t have the guts to launch an all out assault?

Having failed in their initial plots, they have sweetened rumour ville that Izzo is headed back to Vigilance as I.G. Watangoja niaje... Izzo is now on the same rank with Iteere and politicians with some unfinished business won’t let him sail through.    

The protagonists should stop writing me letters to sway my opinion. Kindly keep me off your wars as l will gladly report it as it unfolds.

The writer comments on prison issues.