Court Saves 67 Police Officers From Ruto Suspension
This is after Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service Felix Koskei directed IG Koome to suspend the officers implicated in corruption-related malpractices.
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The High Court has issued conservatory orders suspending a directive by the government to have 67 police officers suspended over alleged links to corruption.
Justice Chacha Mwita while issuing the orders on Monday, November 20 stopped Inspector-General of Police (IG) Japhet Koome from implementing the directive following a petition filed by lawyer Danstan Omari.
This is after Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service Felix Koskei directed IG Koome to suspend the officers implicated in corruption-related malpractices.
Head of Public Service and Chief of Staff, Felix Koskei, speaking during the National Executive Pitstop Retreat presided over by President William Ruto at the Edge Convention Centre, South C, Nairobi on November 16, 2023. /PCS
"A conservatory order is hereby issued restraining the respondents from implementing the directive communicated through the letter dated November 10 by the first respondent recommending the suspension of the interested parties until further orders of this court," the order read.
Koskei's order followed the recommendation of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) after the officers were linked to the malpractices which included allegedly receiving bribes.
However, the officers through Omari moved to court challenging the directive and cited violations of disciplinary procedures outlined in the National Police Service Act.
IG Koome was named as a respondent alongside the National Police Service Commission, Public Service Commission (PSC), and Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki among others.
The matter will be mentioned on November 23, 2023, for further directions. It was however unclear if the order also affected the six Chief Executive Officers (CEO) suspended by the government for alleged involvement in corruption and procurement irregularities within their respective institutions.
According to a statement by State House spokesperson, Hussein Mohamed on Thursday, November 16, the directives saw Koskei direct the suspension of Tanathi Water Works Development Agency CEO Fredrick Mwamati.
"Mr Mwamati is under investigation for procurement irregularities in the award of a tender for the construction of a Leather Industrial Park Water Supply Project," read the statement in part
National Industrial Training Authority (NITA) Director General Stephen Ogenga, Acting Director General of National Museums of Kenya Stanvas Ong’alo and Huduma Centre Secretariat CEO Benjamin Kai Chilumo were also suspended.
The Head of Public Service further ordered the suspension of Bomas of Kenya CEO Peter Gitaa Koria, Anthony Wamukota, the General Manager of Design & Construction at Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Limited (KETRACO) and Esther Wanjiru Chege, an accountant at the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA).
"In issuing the directives, the Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service emphasises that the Government remains firm in its commitment to eradicating corruption which, he maintains, undermines its development agenda," Mohamed concluded.
