Kaindi takes final bow from police service after braving many a storm

It is surprising that her name still draws controversy even as she exits the hot seat as the country’s top-most female police officer.

Grace Syombua Kaindi takes up a new role at the Foreign Affairs ministry following her appointment as an ambassador by President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday.

Ordinarily one would expect her appointment to elicit compliments and goodwill messages after a lengthy stint in the police service going back to 1975.

Instead, her name has this week once again hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons amid raging controversy over the constitutionality of the President’s move.

Legislators allied to the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party claimed the Head of State acted unconstitutionally by dropping Ms Kaindi as Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG).

“The President is the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces and not the National Police Service. He has no powers to sack Ms Kaindi,” ODM national chairman John Mbadi claimed.

Activists take issue

The National Police Service Commission (NPSC), however, denied the assertion and maintained that Ms Kaindi left office after attaining the mandatory retirement age of 60 years, adding that they would follow procedure when hiring her replacement.

The spat has not ended at that. Gender activists have also taken issue with the nomination of General Service Unit (GSU) Commandant Joel Kitili to act as deputy IG until a substantive candidate is found to replace Ms Kaindi.

They demanded that a female officer takes over from Ms Kaindi.

“The president has replaced the DIG with another man, against the spirit of the Constitution, the Jubilee manifesto and his proclaimed support for women leadership in Kenya,” Ruth Aura, chairperson of Fida, Kenya, said.

“The change is not only a demotion and a setback to the gains made by women in Kenya, but is also highly unconstitutional.”

Away from this latest feud, Ms Kaindi has weathered many storms ever since she was named DIG about two years ago.

The former Kenya Airports Police Unit commandant was sworn in by Chief Justice Willy Mutunga at the Supreme Court on February 13, 2013 together with her Administration Police counterpart Samuel Arachi and Directorate of Criminal Investigations boss Muhoro Ndegwa.

Her appointment, however, drew the ire of the ODM party which claimed it was not consulted on the matter despite being a partner in the Coalition Government with the Party of National Unity.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga said he was not consulted on the appointment by his co-principal Mwai Kibaki and questioned the legality and constitutionality of the three appointments.

The ODM party and several human rights groups further said they had reservations about Ms Kaindi’s appointment over the brutal handling of demonstrators in Kisumu town following bloody riots over the disputed 2007 presidential election results.

Appointment drew rage

Ms Kaindi was the police boss in Nyanza at the time and was blamed for failing to prevent the use of brute force by police officers, leading to the death of protesters who were shot by police using live ammunition.

She managed to wade through the storm and moved on to assume office, but her reign was not smooth amid sporadic cases of insecurity across the country.

One of her most trying moments came when Al-Shabaaab militiamen attacked the Westgate Mall in Nairobi on September 21, 2013, leaving 67 people dead and scores injured.

It was also during her time in office that the Kenya Police Service lost 21 officers in a botched operation to flush out suspected cattle rustlers and bandits in Kapedo area, Turkana, on October 31, 2014.

Ms Kaindi was back in the spotlight following back-to-back massacres in Garissa by Shabaab militants.

In a shocking incident gunmen stormed the Garissa University College on April 2, gunned down 148 people – majority students – and injured scores more.

Wave of insecurity

The wave of insecurity heightened the pressure on Ms Kaindi and other top officers to leave office. She, however, stayed put until her exit this week.

Her former boss and now Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) chairman, David Kimaiyo, resigned from office on December 3, 2014 hours after Shabaab militants attacked and killed 36 miners at a quarry in Mandera.

Another group of gunmen had killed one person and injured 13 others in an attack in Wajir town on the same day.

“I can tell you the crime rate has generally reduced since we came to office. We have managed things professionally,” Kimaiyo told a news briefing.

“I wish to thank all the officers of the National Police Service and all our other security agencies whom we have worked with tirelessly throughout the two years I was the Inspector General and for the last 34 years in the NPS.

“I encourage them to continue doing the good work and even double their efforts in the protection of this country and its citizens,” he further said, before insisting that he quit on his volition despite claims he had been forced out following a meeting in State House.

Long serving National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director General Michael Gichangi also made a surprise exit from office in August last year amid heightened concerns over insecurity across the country.

Ms Kaindi holds an MA degree in International Relations from the University of Nairobi and an MSc in Risk, Crisis and Disaster Management from University of Leicester, UK.