By CYRUS OMBATI
A group of junior police officers have obtained court orders to stop their bosses from transferring them.
But the group claimed yesterday Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo had defied the directive, ordering them to report to their new stations.
Thirty officers based at the Athi River weighbridge had moved to court to challenge their transfer, saying it was illegal. Justice George Odunga, sitting in Nairobi, temporarily stopped Kimaiyo from moving the officers until their case is heard and determined.
The first orders were issued on March 15 and extended from March 20 to May 9 when there would be submissions and further orders. The officers were part of close to 200 others who had been moved in mass transfers announced by Kimaiyo early this month.
Yesterday, the officers’ lawyer Jimmy Sausi said his clients had informed him they were being harassed and ordered to leave their stations.
“They have been given marching orders and I find it funny because there are orders stopping the Inspector General’s office from moving them until May,” said Sausi.
Some of the affected officers have been posted to various weighbridges across the country to replace others who had been removed.
This followed a request by the Kenya National Highways Authority (Kenha) Weighbridge Management, which complained of corruption and malpractice among officers stationed there.
The affected weighbridges are Mariakani, Athi River, Gilgil, Webuye and Busia. But the National Police Service Commission and some of the affected officers have opposed the changes, terming them illegal.
There are claims Kimaiyo made the changes without involving the commission in accordance with the law. And after some of the affected juniors opposed the changes and moved to court, the police boss wrote to the commission on March 11 seeking its approval.
Documents obtained from the office of the Inspector General show the commission wrote back to him requesting for a meeting to discuss the matter. The commission wrote to Kimaiyo seeking to know the criteria he used to select the officers for deployment.
“The assignment of officers to this specific sector would need to take into account gender parity, regional and ethnic balance. A close scrutiny of the list does not reveal observance of this cardinal consideration,” reads part of a letter to Kimaiyo from the commission.
The letter said Kenha made its request on January 16 before Kimaiyo took action without the involvement of the commission.
“It is therefore not clear why an approval from the commission would be required for action already taken. It is useful to bring to your attention that the commission of which you are a member, needs to deliberate on this matter and take a well-informed decision,” read the letter in part.
