The National Assembly on Wednesday approved the appointment of Douglas Kanja as the next Inspector General of Police.

The Assembly upheld his appointment on Wednesday afternoon after Gabriel Tongoyo, the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Administration and National Security, submitted to the house that his committee had approved the appointment.

National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula announced the approval following a report of two joint committees from both the National Assembly and the Senate, which are the Departmental Committees on Administration and Internal Affairs and the Senate Standing Committee on Security, Defence, and Foreign Relations, that recommended his appointment following his exemplary discharge of duties as Deputy Inspector General.

''Taking into consideration the findings of the joint committees of the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Affairs and the Senate standing committee on Defence and Foreign Relations in its report on the vetting of Douglas Kanja Kirocho for approval as the Inspector General of the National Police Service. This house approves the appointment of Douglas Kanja Kirocho as the Inspector General of the National Police Service,’’ Wetangula stated.

Kanja's nomination came at the height of the anti-government protests when the then IG Japeth Koome tendered his resignation to the house on July 12.

In the meantime, Gilbert Masengeli served as the Inspector General of Police in an acting capacity.

All eyes will be on Kanja, especially on how he plans to address the issues of police reforms, and brutality as well as those relating to the cooperation of the police with the judiciary. 

During the hearings, the lawmakers while expressing their satisfaction with the appointment of the IG, called on him to address the ills within the police and bring quick sanity to the service.

‘’Kanja has been a very good officer in the service and his commitment cannot be questionable, when he was the DIG, he could attend to your issues as soon as you called him and I hope and know that that is what he will also do to the citizens,’’ Owen Baya, the deputy majority leader reteairted.

''It is coming at a time when the acting Inspector General is demonstrating impunity against a judge and unexplained forced disappearances,'' noted Otiende Amolo, Rarieda MP.

‘’This is one of the appointments that in this house we say give it chance, because since the new constitution was enacted this is the only time that we seem to be getting it,’’ Junet Mohammed, the minority leader echoed.

Masengeli has been on the public watch following his decision to snub court summons, a move that made High Court Judge Lawrence Mugambi sentence him to 6 months in prison for each contempt count.

Kanja is also expected to address security concerns in the country surrounding threats posed by extremist groups like Al Shabaab and the banditry issues facing areas within the Rift Valley.

Before his appointment, Kanja served as the Deputy Inspector-General (DIG) of the National Police Service, a role where he was instrumental in overseeing police operations and ensuring the effective management of the service.

He also served as the Commandant of the General Service Unit(GSU) before rising to the rank of the DIG.