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FORMER DIRECTOR'S TENURE MARKED BY MISTRUST, FALLOUT
Story By Stephen Muiruri
The Nation, Kenya
Nov 14 2006
Mr Joseph Kamau's exit from the CID today comes in the background of
a major fallout between him and police commissioner Mohamed Hussein
Ali which culminated in his suspension in June.
State House officials watched from the sidelines as the country's
two policemen went for each other without raising a finger.
Maj Gen Ali and Mr Kamau enjoyed a good working relationship for
several months after their appointment by President Mwai Kibaki on
April 5, 2004.
They frequently appeared at crime scenes together either to lead the
war on crime or commend the officers.
It first happened on April 22, 2004, when Maj Gen Ali and Mr Kamau
personally led the hunt for gunmen who had shot dead two policemen
in a Nairobi slum.
The two led hundreds of General Service Unit and regular police into
action, combing the dense Lunga Lunga-Mukuru kwa Njenga slums minutes
after the killing.
The commissioner and Mr Kamau again successfully coordinated a Flying
Squad search for police killer Daniel Kiptum Cheruiyot which ended
after he was shot dead on January 27, 2005.
Cheruiyot died under a hail of police bullets under the watch of Mr
Kamau. Maj Gen Ali visited the scene soon after the man was gunned down
in Nairobi's Zimmerman estate. He had killed CID officer Christopher
Karue at Imara Daima and constable Maina Cheserem in Parklands.
Their unity paid dividends when they united in May 2005 and convinced
President Kibaki to fire director of public prosecutions Philip Murgor,
whom they at the time regarded as a common enemy.
The police chiefs had charged Mr Thomas Cholmondeley with shooting
of KWS warden Samson ole Sisina at the Delamere family's Soysambu
ranch at Gilgil on April 19, 2005. Mr Sisina was killed while on an
undercover operation on the sale of game meat.
Though Mr Murgor was acting attorney-general Amos Wako's instructions,
Maj Gen Ali and Mr Kamau took their battle to State House where they
accused Mr Murgor of frustrating their work.
They were joined by Internal Security minister John Michuki.
Mr Murgor was sacked a few days later and replaced with Mr Kerioko
Tobiko.
But cracks started emerging between the country's two policemen when
Maj Gen Ali started being suspicious of the CID chief because of his
closeness with Mr Michuki and the media.
At one time, there was a strong talk that the Government would sack
the commissioner for unknown reasons.
But when Maj Gen Ali sought clarification from Mr Michuki during one
of the functions at Harambee House, the minister denied it and asked
him to carry on with his duties.
Maj Gen Ali viewed the CID chief with suspicion and saw him as an
enemy within.
During the Kanu regime, former President Moi created several centres of
power in the force and received regular briefs from the commissioner,
CID director, GSU commander and a cable of influential officers.
This created a mistrust among senior officers and Mr Moi exploited it
for political reasons and to get a wider picture on what was happening
in the country.
In fact, commissioners who served under Mr Moi and President Kenyatta
were regarded as hostages of the CID director and the GSU commander
of their time.
But when President Kibaki took over, he restored a clear chain of
command where all officers were supposed to be directly answerable
to the commissioner and not outsiders.
The commissioner was also supposed to be answerable to the Internal
Security minister.
However, this did not work out as the President intended.
Mr Kamau and other well-connected officers have been accused of
disregarding the force's chain of command by side-stepping Maj Gen
Ali and taking orders from people outside the force.
On his part, Maj Gen Ali has been having an icy relationship with Mr
Michuki because, according insiders in the force, the commissioner
was uncomfortable being answerable to a minister who is a civilian.
He argues that since he was still a serving military officer, he
should be directly answerable to the president, who is the commander
in chief of the armed forces.
But Mr Michuki and Maj Gen Ali's management styles of are almost
similar-both are dictatorial.
Mr Michuki found Maj Gen Ali too rigid to work with an opted to deal
with Mr Kamau directly.
And it's for that reason that the minister, the top spy and other
top Government officials plotted the Standard raid behind Maj Gen
Ali's back.
It brought to the open a boardroom row which had been simmering
between Maj Gen Ali against the minister and Mr Kamau for a long time.
It also created a rift between Mr Kamau and the commissioner splitting
the force into two camps.
An attempt by Maj-Gen Ali to force Mr Kamau to resign due to the raid
flopped when the later declined to step down arguing he was acting
under the instructions of top Government officials. Mr Michuki had
to step in to save the CID chief.
The golden opportunity for Maj Gen Ali to edge out Mr Kamau came
after the two Armenian brothers caused a breach of security at the
Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on June 7.
The incident involved Mr Artur Margaryan and Mr Artur Sargsyan who
brandished guns when challenged to open their luggage by customs
officials.
Instead of being charged, they were quietly deported, prompting claims
they were receiving top-level protection.
The two Armenians had first came to public attention during the
Standard raid and it was alleged that they took part in the invasion.
The row between Maj Gen Ali and Mr Kamau impacted negatively on the
war against crime.
Ironically, President Kibaki appointed the two after sacking the then
commissioner Mr Edwin Nyaseda and CID chief Daniel Ndung'u amid public
concern over soaring crime.
Mr Nyaseda and Mr Ndung'u, who were appointed three months after
President Kibaki took over power, were shown the doors after serving
a year in office.
At the time they were sacked, vicious gangs on a mission to kill, steal
and destroy were on the rampage and the police seemed to be powerless.
Kenyans were quickly getting impatient with the Kibaki administration,
which had promised to improve security.
In an attempt to stamp his authority in the force, Maj Gen Ali
rendered the CID almost impotent as he waged war against key elite
units attached to it.
Officers perceived to have been close to Mr Kamau were transferred
while the elite units were rendered ineffective after being starved
of money to buy information from the underworld.
This crippled the entire force's ability to detect and immobilise
dangerous criminals.
The fighting was blamed for the increase in violent crime in various
parts of the country.
Story By Stephen Muiruri
The Nation, Kenya
Nov 14 2006
Mr Joseph Kamau's exit from the CID today comes in the background of
a major fallout between him and police commissioner Mohamed Hussein
Ali which culminated in his suspension in June.
State House officials watched from the sidelines as the country's
two policemen went for each other without raising a finger.
Maj Gen Ali and Mr Kamau enjoyed a good working relationship for
several months after their appointment by President Mwai Kibaki on
April 5, 2004.
They frequently appeared at crime scenes together either to lead the
war on crime or commend the officers.
It first happened on April 22, 2004, when Maj Gen Ali and Mr Kamau
personally led the hunt for gunmen who had shot dead two policemen
in a Nairobi slum.
The two led hundreds of General Service Unit and regular police into
action, combing the dense Lunga Lunga-Mukuru kwa Njenga slums minutes
after the killing.
The commissioner and Mr Kamau again successfully coordinated a Flying
Squad search for police killer Daniel Kiptum Cheruiyot which ended
after he was shot dead on January 27, 2005.
Cheruiyot died under a hail of police bullets under the watch of Mr
Kamau. Maj Gen Ali visited the scene soon after the man was gunned down
in Nairobi's Zimmerman estate. He had killed CID officer Christopher
Karue at Imara Daima and constable Maina Cheserem in Parklands.
Their unity paid dividends when they united in May 2005 and convinced
President Kibaki to fire director of public prosecutions Philip Murgor,
whom they at the time regarded as a common enemy.
The police chiefs had charged Mr Thomas Cholmondeley with shooting
of KWS warden Samson ole Sisina at the Delamere family's Soysambu
ranch at Gilgil on April 19, 2005. Mr Sisina was killed while on an
undercover operation on the sale of game meat.
Though Mr Murgor was acting attorney-general Amos Wako's instructions,
Maj Gen Ali and Mr Kamau took their battle to State House where they
accused Mr Murgor of frustrating their work.
They were joined by Internal Security minister John Michuki.
Mr Murgor was sacked a few days later and replaced with Mr Kerioko
Tobiko.
But cracks started emerging between the country's two policemen when
Maj Gen Ali started being suspicious of the CID chief because of his
closeness with Mr Michuki and the media.
At one time, there was a strong talk that the Government would sack
the commissioner for unknown reasons.
But when Maj Gen Ali sought clarification from Mr Michuki during one
of the functions at Harambee House, the minister denied it and asked
him to carry on with his duties.
Maj Gen Ali viewed the CID chief with suspicion and saw him as an
enemy within.
During the Kanu regime, former President Moi created several centres of
power in the force and received regular briefs from the commissioner,
CID director, GSU commander and a cable of influential officers.
This created a mistrust among senior officers and Mr Moi exploited it
for political reasons and to get a wider picture on what was happening
in the country.
In fact, commissioners who served under Mr Moi and President Kenyatta
were regarded as hostages of the CID director and the GSU commander
of their time.
But when President Kibaki took over, he restored a clear chain of
command where all officers were supposed to be directly answerable
to the commissioner and not outsiders.
The commissioner was also supposed to be answerable to the Internal
Security minister.
However, this did not work out as the President intended.
Mr Kamau and other well-connected officers have been accused of
disregarding the force's chain of command by side-stepping Maj Gen
Ali and taking orders from people outside the force.
On his part, Maj Gen Ali has been having an icy relationship with Mr
Michuki because, according insiders in the force, the commissioner
was uncomfortable being answerable to a minister who is a civilian.
He argues that since he was still a serving military officer, he
should be directly answerable to the president, who is the commander
in chief of the armed forces.
But Mr Michuki and Maj Gen Ali's management styles of are almost
similar-both are dictatorial.
Mr Michuki found Maj Gen Ali too rigid to work with an opted to deal
with Mr Kamau directly.
And it's for that reason that the minister, the top spy and other
top Government officials plotted the Standard raid behind Maj Gen
Ali's back.
It brought to the open a boardroom row which had been simmering
between Maj Gen Ali against the minister and Mr Kamau for a long time.
It also created a rift between Mr Kamau and the commissioner splitting
the force into two camps.
An attempt by Maj-Gen Ali to force Mr Kamau to resign due to the raid
flopped when the later declined to step down arguing he was acting
under the instructions of top Government officials. Mr Michuki had
to step in to save the CID chief.
The golden opportunity for Maj Gen Ali to edge out Mr Kamau came
after the two Armenian brothers caused a breach of security at the
Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on June 7.
The incident involved Mr Artur Margaryan and Mr Artur Sargsyan who
brandished guns when challenged to open their luggage by customs
officials.
Instead of being charged, they were quietly deported, prompting claims
they were receiving top-level protection.
The two Armenians had first came to public attention during the
Standard raid and it was alleged that they took part in the invasion.
The row between Maj Gen Ali and Mr Kamau impacted negatively on the
war against crime.
Ironically, President Kibaki appointed the two after sacking the then
commissioner Mr Edwin Nyaseda and CID chief Daniel Ndung'u amid public
concern over soaring crime.
Mr Nyaseda and Mr Ndung'u, who were appointed three months after
President Kibaki took over power, were shown the doors after serving
a year in office.
At the time they were sacked, vicious gangs on a mission to kill, steal
and destroy were on the rampage and the police seemed to be powerless.
Kenyans were quickly getting impatient with the Kibaki administration,
which had promised to improve security.
In an attempt to stamp his authority in the force, Maj Gen Ali
rendered the CID almost impotent as he waged war against key elite
units attached to it.
Officers perceived to have been close to Mr Kamau were transferred
while the elite units were rendered ineffective after being starved
of money to buy information from the underworld.
This crippled the entire force's ability to detect and immobilise
dangerous criminals.
The fighting was blamed for the increase in violent crime in various
parts of the country.