CID chief Ndegwa Muhoro and Deputy IGs Grace Kaindi and Samuel Arachi were only spared the sack thanks to the chaos in Parliament on Thursday.
MP Moses Lesonet had proposed an amendment to the National Police Service Act that the three top cops be shown the door as soon as President Uhuru Kenyatta appended his signature to the Security Bill at noon on Saturday.
Parliament on Thursday passed the controversial laws amid chaos and fistfights in the Chamber.
Yesterday, Lesonet said the amendment had been dropped following consensus among MPs from Jubilee and Cord and following the chaos in Parliament.
He said he will propose similar amendments in future, depending on how the top police commanders deal with the insecurity situation in the country.
“We hope they will now handle security matters in this country more seriously, otherwise such amendments could come in the future,” Lesonet told the Star on the phone.
Yesterday, Uhuru praised Parliament for passing the laws.
The three are not yet off the hook, after Parliament stripped them of the security of tenure, giving the President the leeway to fire them at will.
The clause that would have seen the three top cops sent packing stated that the National Police Service Act amend Section 131. “The amendment to this Act under the provisions of the Security Laws Amendment Bill 2014 shall declare vacant the offices of the Deputy Inspector General in charge of the Kenya Police, the Deputy Inspector General in charge of the Administration Police and the Director of Criminal Investigations . . . upon enactment of this Bill”.
The changes were contained in the revised Security Bill, but Lesonet did not move the amendments in Parliament following the skirmishes that led to Dagoretti MP Simba Arati losing part of a finger after being bitten by another MP and Machakos Senator Johnstone Muthama having his shirt and trousers torn.
Politicians from the Jubilee Coalition have at the same time intensified behind-the-scenes manoeuvres to send the three home.
The move comes in the wake of intense head-hunting for a replacement for their boss David Kimaiyo, who resigned two weeks ago.
Last Thursday, Tetu MP Ndung’u Gathenji, who is also the chairman of the Departmental Committee on National Security, is said to have attempted to sneak a clause into the Security Bill to have the three retired together with Kimaiyo.
Ndung’u has however denied allegations by some police chiefs that he was behind an attempt to force them out of office when he asked staff at the Government Press to include the clause. The staffers are said to have rejected the proposal by Ndung’u.
Deputy President William Ruto’s URP’s politicians have held three meetings – in Eldoret, Kericho and Nairobi – where the proposal to have the three deputies terminated was discussed.
The politicians, mainly from Kimaiyo’s backyard of Elgeyo Marakwet, want the top cops sacked over allegations that they sabotaged Kimaiyo.
Majority Leader Aden Duale, a member of URP, told Parliament that Kaindi and Arachi should also resign after the departure of Kimaiyo. His remarks have resulted in a heated debate within top police circles.
Yesterday, Ndung’u dismissed the allegations as rumours and propaganda.
“You need to speak to Duale, because he is the man who had the proposal on the floor of the House”, Ndung’u told the Star on the phone
-The Star
