Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome on Monday, November 14 called on police officers to restore order in the city amid rising cases of insecurity.
Koome who spoke after meeting with Nairobi governor Johnson Sakaja stated that the stability of this nation should not be put in line.
“We cannot compromise on the stability of Kenya. It is a beautiful country. Our officers must be patriotic, we have a duty and job to do,” he stated.
At the same time, the new police boss stated that officers are going to use all means possible to curb the rising cases of robbery with violence saying the culprits are acting out of peer pressure.
“There’s no offence in law called mugging, it is robbery with violence and that is a capital offence. We are going to use all means at our disposal to ensure these young people acting out of peer pressure are dealt with properly,” he noted.
Koome took over office from Deputy Inspector General Noor Gabow who has been acting IG since August 2022 following the retirement of Hillary Mutyambai who left the service due to a medical condition.
On Tuesday, November 8 during his vetting, Koome promised to transform the National Police Service (NPS) and offer protection for all Kenyans irrespective of region, tribe, or political affiliation.
The new IG will have to deal with the banditry menace which has rocked the northern part of Kenya in the past few months.
Koome promised to not only initiate reforms at the NPS but to also stop extra-judicial killings which he said will not happen under his watch as he will ensure that human rights will be respected.
On the new police uniforms, he said he will engage his commanders to come up with a way forward on the matter as it has lowered the morale of officers.
“The truth is that officers are not happy with that uniform. You can imagine an officer leaving his residence wearing a uniform he does not like, that office is unhappy. What do you expect he will do?”
On mental issues of the officer, he said once approved he will form a directorate of wellbeing that will be chaired by a person whose rank will be the level of Deputy IG, which will handle the wellbeing of officers following the rise of cases of officers dying by suicide.
The new police boss has served in the police service for the past 31 years, having been enlisted in the then Kenya Police Force in 1991 as a Police Constable.
