Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai on the spot for snubbing MPs
Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai could find himself in trouble for failing to honour invites by parliamentary committees.
On Friday, Mutyambai did not accompany members of the National Police Service Commission (NPS) who were appearing before the Departmental Committee on Administration and National Security, prompting the committee to postpone the meeting.
MPS chiefs were appearing before the committee regarding psychosocial support to police officers in light of rising cases of suicides and murders in the service.
“There has been consistent and deliberate ignorance by some members of the commission, who are not here and were not here in our last engagement.
That will lead to frustrations of your Commission in terms of execution of your roles,” said committee chairman Peter Mwathi (Limuru).
“This is a serious matter that requires the presence of the IG, who is a member of the Commission,” noted Mwathi.
It is the second time that Mutyambai had failed to honour committee invites to respond to concerns raised against his office.
Attempts by NPS chairperson Eliud Kinuthia to defend his team that it had attained the requisite quorum were dismissed by the committee.
“The law explains very well that three commission members make the quorum,” Kinuthia said.
However, the committee maintained that the law was clear that either the IG or his deputy must attend parliamentary meetings.
“You cannot run away from the fact that the IG’s presence is explained in the Act that states either him or his deputy must accompany you,” Mwathi said.
Committee member Owuor Aduma (Nyakach) said that psychosocial cases in the police service had increased to worrying levels and accused the commission of not showing commitment to address the issue.
