Nairobi Kenya, September 19, 2024— Douglas Kanja is crowned the new Inspector General of Police at the Supreme Court Kenya. Kanja takes over from now, the Deputy IG, then the Acting Inspector General of Police, Gilbert Masengeli. Kanja now becomes the 5th Inspector General of Police, a position that was established when Kenya became a republic in 1964.
After surviving two days of microscopic scrutiny by the members of Parliament, Kanja was officially appointed by President Ruto on September 18, 2024, published on a gazetted notice. This is after both the National Assembly and the Senate members unanimously approved him.
The Chief Justice, Martha Koome, led Kanja in the ceremonious oath-taking process, graced by the president, the Cabinet Minister for Interior, Prof. Kithure Kindiki, and other protocols drawn from different government wings.
Kanja has now taken over from Gilbert Masengeli, whose reign as the Acting IG became brief in a shambolic manner after taking a steep standoff with the Judicial Service Commission, a case that has left his reputation paralyzed.
Kanja also served briefly as the acting IG after Japheth Koome, whose leadership attracted sparkling criticism from the top government officials and a section of Kenyans over his said premature handling of the Gen-Z-led anti-government protests.
Japheth Koome resigned from the top job following weeks of Ant-Finance Bill 2024 protests led by the unfazed Gen Zs and millennials, a movement that began as a docile rage but later turned tragic after being catalyzed by the government’s incessant ignorance.
Masengeli now goes back to his previous position as the DIG even as he continues to face the delicate battle with the judicial system, a brittle path that predecessors took and succeeded after yielding support from the unscripulous executive and legislative arms of government officials.
Gilbert Masengeli was sentenced to 6 months in prison for contempt of court. The DIG attracted such a sentence last week on Fridays after snubbing Justice Mugambi’s seven summonses consecutively. An open window request to apologize to Mugambi didn’t materialize today. Yesterday, the appellate court rejected his appeal to have the sentence reconsidered.
Masengeli is required to answer for the case involving the abductions of three men by the suspected police officers. The trio were abducted on August 19th, 2024, an act that’s directly linked to the Gen-Z-led anti-government protests in Kajiado and Machakos counties (Kitengela and Mlolongo).
Kanja, who has now started his new course at the Jogoo House, Nairobi, received a stunning warning from the vetting committee not to take the disobedience path predecessors had swung into. He’s therefore been mandated by the lawmakers—a task to ensure that police brutality and their deplorable living status are properly addressed in his four-year tenure.
