No white smoke yet as search for IG intensifies

CHANGE OF GUARD: Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinett receives the National Police Service flag from Deputy IG Samuel Arachi (left), who has been acting, at Jogoo House yesterday.

It appears that white smoke has not yet been witnessed as search for the next Inspector General of Police intensifies.

On Monday the outgoing IG Joseph Boinet was said to have spend the better part of the day in office attending meetings at the Office of the President.

Boinnet walked into the Office of the President as early as 9am. He left the meeting at 6.30pm and headed straight to State House.

Top on the agenda was the appointment of an acting IG. The National Police Service Commission is supposed to advertise the position, conduct interviews and zero in on three names that will be forwarded to the President.

The President will then pick one and forward the name to Parliament for ratification. Before this process is conducted, an acting IG will take over from Boinnet whose four-year-term at the helm came to an end yesterday.

Unlike in the past when Boinnet was accompanied by his two deputies and DCI chief George Kinoti into official meetings, he was alone yesterday, according to highly placed sources in government. Boinnet is said to have met Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho and Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i.

Lobbying for the top seat intensified by last evening. Names of at least six senior top cops have been floated as potential candidates to take over from Boinnet. Among those seen as potential successors are police spokesman Charles Owino, DCI chief George Kinoti, DIGs Noor Gabow and Edward Mbugua.

Others are government Spokesman Eric Kiraithe, a former senior police officer and Kenya’s ambassador to Brazil Isaac Ochieng.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *