The National Police Service Commission (NPSC) nominee for the position of chairman says differences with the National Police Service (NPS) should not be allowed to escalate to the public.

Dr Amani Yuda Komora said issues like the custody of police officers’ payroll should have been resolved internally.

Appearing before the National Assembly vetting committee on Wednesday, Komora said if approved, he would strike a balance between the two entities, adding that the two should not be competing.

He noted that the aim should be to ensure police officers are well facilitated in all aspects, including training, welfare and promotions to enhance the image of the service.

If approved, Komora promised to build a team that would ensure that each entity undertakes their respective mandates, insisting that NPSC is tasked to oversee the human resource management while the NPS runs the command.

“I will work with the different players and colleague commissioners, who I believe we will be able to consolidate into a solid team, so that we have one singular mind to address issues of NPS, instead of some of the divided noise that we hear.” Komora said. 

The nominee admitted that systemic corruption in the police service has been a major issue that requires a new approach, citing last week’s survey that listed the service as the most corrupt.

“It is not good that every other year the NPS remains on the top for the bad reasons. We will work with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission alongside other players to try to understand the root causes of what are these processes that are so prone to corruption that it becomes almost difficult to correct,” he said.

He said the challenge would likely be around follow-ups and interventions, and having served in the anti-corruption space, he would be able to do that. 

The committee challenged Komora to explain how he could confront the problem.

“Why do you think corruption is rampant in Kenya because it has so many negatives. You have worked in SRC (Salaries and Remuneration Commission). Are the public servants adequately remunerated and if so, why is corruption rampant?” said Dido Rasso, the vice chairperson.

The nominee, who is worth Sh102 million, said as much as the public servants may not be adequately paid because of several issues like budgeting, it does not justify corruption.

The chairperson, Gabriel Tongoyo, wondered how NPSC would ensure fairness during police recruitment.

“You know that the NPS is almost undertaking recruitment. Maybe you can come clear on that; how do you, in your group, intend to tackle the very rampant corruption prevailing in the service during recruitment?” he said.

Komora said fairness in hiring and promotions would curb corruption, adding that digitisation was critical.

“What we need to do is to address the opportunities that are in the processes within recruitment, promotions, trainings and transfers. So specifically on the online training programme that is underway, we have no choice than to automate or to go digital in most of our services and operations,” he said.

He also proposed a reward system to ensure good police officers are motivated while those going against their mandate are punished.

Also vetted was Angeline Siparo for the position of NPSC member, who emphasised the need for a comprehensive programme to upgrade police training, citing cyber crime.

She told the committee that she is worth Sh113 million.