Police boss IG Japhet Koome resigns in wake of anti-govt protests

Kenya’s police chief, Japheth Koome, has resigned from his role as Inspector General of Police, according to State House spokesperson Hussein Mohamed.

His resignation comes a day after the president sacked his entire cabinet in a televised address to the nation on Thursday.

“William Ruto, President and Commander in Chief of the Defence Forces, has, on this 12th day of July 2024, accepted the resignation of Eng. Japheth Koome, as the Inspector General of the National Police Service,” read a statement issued by State House.

The President has appointed Koome’s deputy, Douglas Kanja, as the acting police boss.

His resignation, effective today, follows a wave of criticism from Kenyans over the police's handling of peaceful protests, which resulted in the brutal killings of over forty protesters, many of whom were young people, including university students. The police also fatally shot a 12-year-old child eight times in Rongai.

His tenure has faced intense scrutiny and a tumultuous season for Kenyan law enforcement. Koome took over from former police chief Hillary Mutyambai, who was pushed out by the Ruto administration when it came to power in September 2022 on accusations of misuse of power and extra-judicial killings.

Other appointments made by Ruto today include Patrick Mwiti Arandu as Commissioner General of Prisons, taking over from Brigadier (Rtd) John Warioba, who is proceeding on terminal leave. Eliud Langat has been designated as the acting Deputy Inspector General of Police, while James Kamau is the acting Deputy Inspector General manning the Administration Police Service.

Eliud Langat, who is now the Deputy Police Chief, was the Commandant of the paramilitary Kenya Police Unit, GSU, during the time of intense protests.

Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome. (Photo: File)

Ranson Lolmodooni has been appointed Commandant of the General Service Unit, and Gilbert Masengeli is the new Commandant of the Administrative Police Training College in Embakasi.

William Yiampoy has been designated as Director of Operations at Police Headquarters, while Kainga Mathiu has been deployed as Commandant of the National Police Leadership Academy in Ngong.

Ruto is expected to also name new Cabinet Secretaries of Defence and Interior after he fired former CSs Aden Duale and Kithure Kindiki alongside his entire cabinet.

Kindiki was accused of overseeing the deaths of protesters, with the youthful demonstrators, the opposition, and local and international human rights organisations calling for his resignation along with that of Koome.

Nairobi police boss Adamson Bunegi has also been in the spotlight for the deaths, kidnappings, and arrests of protesters.

The appointment of new Cabinet Secretaries in the security dockets and a new Inspector General of Police will allow Ruto to overhaul the critical sector less than two years after assuming power in September 2022.

IG Koome's biography 

Koome was officially sworn in as the fourth Inspector General of the National Police Service under the 2010 Constitution after a vetting process overseen by a joint committee of both houses.

He was sworn in on November 11, 2022, taking over the mantle from Deputy Inspector General Noor Gabow, who was then in charge in an acting capacity following the retirement of IG Hilary Mutyambai on health grounds, as announced by President William Ruto on September 27, 2022.

Kooem, an engineer by profession, joined the police service in 1991 when he was enlisted in the then-Kenya Police Force as a police constable.

This was after graduating from the University of Nairobi in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering.

After graduating from Kiganjo, Koome was first posted as a police constable in Nairobi before he was deployed to the Anti-Stock Theft Unit (ASTU) in Gilgil.

"It was while at the unit credited with the recovery of stolen livestock that Eng Koome was promoted from a constable to an inspector of police, and by 1998, he was a gazetted officer, at the rank of superintendent of police," a section of his profile earlier shared by the police service states.

Eng. Koome would later be recalled to general duty and get posted to the Buru Buru police division as deputy commander before his promotion to serve as police commander in charge of Machakos, Maragua, Buru Buru, and Central in Nairobi.

Later on, Koome went on to serve as the Director of Planning at Police Headquarters for 10 years and as Nairobi regional commander.

He also served as the principal assistant to the Deputy Inspector General at Vigilance House and the Commandant National Police College Main Campus-Kiganjo prior to his nomination to the position of IG by President Ruto less than two years ago.

He leaves the epitome of police leadership with over three decades of experience and a legacy of spearheading the police housing and modernisation programme, where dilapidated police structures across various police stations in the country were replaced with modest buildings, giving the service a new face.

While he has been credited with ruthlessly dealing with armed criminal gangs in Nairobi in the past and overseeing adequate deployment of officers across major hot spots in the city to prevent crime, his long career has not been without criticism.

Koome was accused of overseeing instances of high-handedness towards protesters during his time as Nairobi County Police Commander.

At one time, he was captured on camera stoning an opposition vehicle as police dispersed protesters, and several times during his tenure as Inspector General of Police, he occasionally outlawed protests and issued firm instructions to police to disperse gatherings.

Last year, he outlawed the opposition's anti-government protests, attracting condemnation from politicians and members of civil society.

This year, he has come under heavy criticism during the ongoing Gen Z protests, which have been marred by instances of police brutality leading to the deaths of tens of protesters.

Nairobi County Police Commander Adamson Bungei consults with officers at the entrance to Parliament ahead of protests on July 2, 2024.