Japhet Koome Approved As IG Mutyambai's Successor
Ruto had indicated that Koome will succeed Mutyambai who resigned and proceeded to terminal leave...
Marvin Chege 
Japhet Koome will be Kenya's next Inspector General of Police, succeeding Hilary Mutyambai who resigned on Tuesday, September 27.
A joint committee of the Senate and the National Assembly approved his candidature on Wednesday, November 8, a day after he appeared before the committee for vetting.
Koome will now take the reins from Noor Gabow who served in an acting capacity as the Police IG. He also succeeds Mutyambai, whose resignation was announced by President William Ruto.
Ruto had indicated that Koome will succeed Mutyambai who resigned and proceeded to terminal leave. He underwent vetting in Parliament before being sworn in as dictated by the Constitution.
Net Worth
The police veteran had disclosed during the vetting that he is worth Ksh89 million, comprising of his investments, property and shares.
Lawmakers however challenged him to explain the sources of his income and in particular, his net worth.
"I have a share capital in the Police Sacco, I have vehicles, two tractors for farming, 37 acres of land in my rural home, two plots within the local shopping centre, my land in Nairobi where I have lived for 22 years and another two plots in Kitengela," he said.
Koome made his case clear before the vetting panel, arguing that his 31 years of experience in the force coupled with a clean record was enough for him to handle the role effectively.
He argued that Mutyambai had joined the National Police Service (NPS) two years after he did and rose to the top post after serving for 19 years in the service. He also said he lasted longer than former Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) George Kinoti.
“The former DCI boss joined the service after me…The outgoing IG joined the service two years after me. At the time of his appointment, the former DCI boss had served 19 years yet I have served for 30 years. You can check my appraisals,” the former commandant said.
“Fellow officers are now excited that one of their own, who joined the service as a constable is today being vetted to be the Inspector-General,” he said.
Koome has previously served as the Nairobi County Police Commander before being appointed as Commandant of the National Police Service College, Kiganjo.
He is also a Civil Engineer by training, having graduated from the University of Nairobi in 1990.
Other experiences
- Recruited into police service in 1981 as a graduate constable
- First posting was in Nairobi as a police constable before moving to the Anti-Stock Theft Unit in Gilgil
- Promoted to the rank of Inspector of Police while serving in Gilgil and stayed there until 1998
- 1998: Transferred from the Anti-Stock Theft Unit to Buruburu as the deputy divisional commander
- Was among officers who received anti-terrorism training at the Louisiana State Police Training Academy, US following the 1998 bomb blast in Nairobi
- He was transferred to Machakos and promoted to OCPD after the US training before being recalled to Buruburu
- In 2002, he was transferred to the City Centre to deal with bank robberies
- He then moved to Kiganjo Training College as an instructor
- 2005: Moved to Police Headquarters in 2005 to be in charge of police housing before moving up to become director of policy planning
- In 2015, he was transferred to Nairobi city as the commandant
- After the 2017 elections, he was transferred to Kenya Police Service headquarters as principal deputy Inspector-general
- 2019 was transferred to the National Police training college, Kiganjo as the commandant
Inspector General of Police, Hilary Mutyambai, and Director General of Criminal Investigations, George Kinoti. /FILE
