BY SAM ALFAN.
The High Court has suspended temporarily suspended the promotion of 514 police officers made by Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome made on June 5.
Employment and labour relations court judge Byram Ongaya further suspended plans contained in a memo by Koome issued on June 9, prohibiting police officers from applying to fill the 514 vacancies in the National Police Service.
And in a bid to end the fight between Koome and the National Police Service Commission, the court asked the warring parties to convene a meeting with a view to resolve the dispute amicably.
Busia Senator Okiyah Omtatah moved to court to challenge the promotions arguing that Koome did not follow the procedure in purporting to promote the 514 police officers.
“The promoted officers were arbitrarily handpicked and largely skewed towards two communities, cronies and relatives of senior officers. Some of the beneficiaries had not even completed the mandatory three-year stay in one rank before being promoted to the next,” said Omtatah.
Omtatah claimed that IG violated the constitution and the National Police Service Act by sidestepping the National Police Service Commission (NPSC), which is the body mandated to recommend promotions of police officers.
He told the employment court that after Koome unilaterally made the promotions on June 5, the NPSC commission denounced the development and declared that the IG has no powers to effect the promotions.
The commission had also faulted the I-G on account that the promotions were undertaken without advertisement to give all police officers equal chance and directed the Principal Secretary to refrain from implementing any promotion announced by Koome.
He added that on June 9, the commission advertised for the same 514 vacancies but the IG immediately dismissed the advert and warned police officers from applying for the position.
“This has caused a turf war between the IG and NPSC with bare knuckles public fight which has split the police service down the middle and is affecting innocent police officers who are due for promotion but are now caught up in the middle as the subject of the turf war,” said Omtatah.
He Senator said the commission advertised for the same 514 vacancies but the IG immediately dismissed the advert and warned police officers from applying for the positions.
According to the legislator, the move has caused a turf war between the IG and NPSC with bare knuckles public fight which has split the police service down the middle and is affecting innocent police officers who are due for promotion but are now caught up in the middle as the subject of the turf war.
