EDITORIAL: No rest for new police boss

All eyes are on the National Police Service following the confirmation by Parliament of the new boss. Mr Hilary Mutyambai is now set to begin his tenure as the Inspector-General of Police, succeeding Mr Joseph Boinnet, whose term officially ended last month.

Mr Mutyambai comes into a key office where the luxury of a grace period to familiarise himself with his new role is not possible.

The new police chief must hit the road running. Indeed, he will find a full in-tray on his very first day in the office and this will be the standard fare because there is plenty to do.

The change of leadership at such a pivotal organisation with a massive national mandate, naturally comes with great expectations. But he is not beginning on a clean slate. He will have the benefit of some handover notes from his predecessor.

However, this is his own race and to have been so soundly endorsed, it means that he must have the qualities, experience, knowledge and fortitude required to effectively do the job.

The police service is a key law enforcement agency in fighting general crime, and to come up with measures to counter the terrorist threat from the Somalia-based Al-Shabaab.

There is a need for intelligence gathering to avert crimes instead of sitting back and waiting to be hit before moving out to investigate and bring the culprits to book.

The service needs to boost traffic control and play a key role in the countrywide fight against corruption, especially in the public sector, to stop the haemorrhage of public resources.

But the revelation that there are ghost officers who have been gobbling up Sh140 million per month calls for quick investigation as, after all, the service must first put its house in order to have the moral authority to point the finger at others.

But needed here is not a lone ranger. The new IG needs the benefit of institutional memory to succeed, hence the need to work closely with his senior and junior colleagues in the service and also collaborate with other agencies to enhance security and protect and lives and property of all Kenyans.