Why I veered off my career path and studied for a BCom degree - Police IG nominee Kanja

Inspector General of Police nominee Douglas Kanja has revealed that he studied for a Bachelor of Commerce Degree as part of furthering his higher education in the hope of clinching a leadership position at the service.

The long-serving police officer said this during his vetting by both houses of parliament on Thursday afternoon when asked why he veered off his career path to take a course in commerce.

"When I rose to the rank of an Assistant Commissioner of Police, I was also aspiring for higher levels in terms of commandant leadership of the service so I opted for a Bachelor's Degree in Commerce, Finance option," he told the joint vetting committee.

The Murang'a High School alumni was recruited to the General Service Unit straight after his A-levels kicking off his 39-year-long career that kicked off as a constable in the banditry-prone North Rift region.

After starting as a police constable in 1985, he rose through the ranks over the years to Commissioner of Police, Assistant Inspector General, and Senior Assistant Inspector General till his nomination as IG about two weeks ago.

He revealed that during his career, he has taken multiple courses that catapulted him to senior positions over time seeing him becoming a platoon commander during which he helped in multiple security operations after which he was later promoted and served under the Presidential Escort Unit.

"I have risen through the ranks from a constable up to the last point where I was the Acting Inspector General of Police. I have not missed even a single rank within the service for the last 39 years," he said.

He revealed that he at some point wanted to serve as an arms technician to preserve the arms in the service and for that he received three-year training as an armourer and was involved in the maintenance, marking and creation of the database of state-owned firearms.

Kanja also holds a Diploma in Security Management which he said was meant to prepare him to manage policing services at higher levels.

"I am grateful that I followed that path, it's good," he said.

Kanja has served as Deputy Inspector General of the Kenya Police Service, Commandant of the General Service Unit for five years, Deputy Commandant of the General Service for three years, County Police Commander in charge of Kilifi County, Deputy Commandant of Kenya Airports Police Unit, Chief Armourer at the police Headquarters and Deputy Chief Armourer at the Kenya Police Service Headquarters, among other high-level positions within the ranks of the National Police Service.

He has equally served in various capacities, including as the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the Commandant of the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU), and the Director of Operations at the police headquarters.