By Kenneth Ogosia
About 3,000 police officers work as cooks, gardeners, drivers, sentries and receptionists for senior commanders.
The report of the taskforce on police reforms presented to President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga last month and obtained by the Nation says unless these officers revert to security-related work, reforms will remain a pipe dream.
The report, which recommends a major shake-up in the top ranks, exposes serious problems including poor leadership, patronage, corruption and a communication breakdown between the ranks.
“All officers of the rank of assistant Commissioner of Police or Administration Police and above (must) be subjected to a review based on skills, integrity, track record and mental or intellectual ability,” the 276-page report says.
The taskforce, headed by retired judge Phillip Ransley, criticises the deployment of such a large number of trained security personnel as househelps.
“The taskforce is concerned that Kenya Police and AP officers are deployed in non-core functions which compromises the ability of police to discharge their mandate,” the report says.
This, according to the document, perpetuates corruption. “The chances of influencing promotions are high given that such officers are closer to senior government officials.”
The report says the deployment, which did not take into account specialised skills, is left to the discretion of senior officers, resulting in criminal investigators and traffic police doing menial duties.
This has resulted in officers with no specialised training working in key departments.
Source: Daily Nation
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