Okiya Omtatah has moved to court to challenge the appointment of Douglas Kanja as the new Inspector General of police.

In the petition filed on Wednesday, the Busia Senator cites that the appointment went against the Constitution, and the new IG was handpicked instead of following a competitive process.

IG Kanja’s appointment was approved a week ago by the National Assembly and sworn in by Chief Justice Martha Koome and subsequently, President William Ruto installed him into office.

The high court of Kenya has since certified the petition as urgent.

IG Kanja who has barely served a week in office is expected to address the issue of police reform which the president said requires Ksh106 billion in funding.

The appointment followed various committee reports from both the Senate and the National Assembly who all hailed the lawmaker for his exemplary discharge of duties as the Deputy Inspector General.

During his announcement for his approval, National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula said that the house had considered all the findings provided by all the relevant committees involved in the process.

''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.

The Inspector General of Police position has been riddled with several controversies since it was declared vacant on July 12 after then IG Japhet Koome rendered his resignation after the Gen Z anti-government protests left several deceased and injured at the hands of police officers.

As Kanja awaited his appointment to be approved, DIG Gilbert Masengeli was assigned to serve in the seat in an acting capacity.

However, his assignment would prove controversial although short-lived. In the two months that he served as IG, Masengeli succeeded in defying 7 court orders, getting convicted of contempt of court, and getting sentenced to 6 months in jail until his sentence was ultimately commuted just a few days after Kanja took over as IG.

Now, the position faces another hurdle as the High Court moves to speed up the petition to unseat the newest Inspector General of Police.