Former Chief Justice David Maraga has questioned the legality of Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja and Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Director Mohamed Amin remaining in office, arguing that President William Ruto’s administration bent the law on the retirement of public officers.
Speaking on Monday, August 31, as he released the police reforms taskforce report, Maraga said both Kanja and Amin had exceeded the mandatory retirement age of 60 and did not meet the legal threshold required for an extension of service.
Maraga cited Sections 81 and 82 of the Public Service Act, 2017, saying the law requires public officers to retire at 60, while an extension beyond that age is permitted where an officer possesses rare skills that cannot be found within the service.
“The law on age was bent. Section 81 of the Public Service Act, 2017, retired public officers at 60. Section 82 allows a contract extension only for rare skills the service cannot find,” Maraga said.
He questioned whether Kanja and Amin possessed exceptional skills that would justify their continued service beyond the retirement age.
“What rare skills do they hold that other senior officers do not? Neither were they chosen by open competition? And the result is that they both occupy their offices illegally,” he said.
Kanja became Inspector General after President Ruto nominated him following the resignation of former IG Japheth Koome in July 2024. Parliament subsequently approved his nomination, and he was sworn in as the substantive Inspector General in September 2024.
Before his appointment as IG, Kanja had served as Deputy Inspector General of the Kenya Police Service. President Ruto initially appointed him acting Inspector General after Koome’s resignation.
Amin has served as Director of Criminal Investigations and, according to recent reporting, was among senior officers who received a two-year contract extension after reaching the mandatory retirement age.
Maraga also challenged the process through which senior police officers are appointed.
He said the taskforce had recommended fresh vetting of police officers from the rank of Senior Superintendent of Police upwards, but the recommendation had not been implemented.
“The taskforce equally called it so and termed it unconstitutional. It demanded the fresh vetting and appointment of officers from the rank of senior superintendent of police. That request was ignored,” Maraga said.
He further argued that appointments to senior police positions should not be controlled by the President, including the appointment of the DCI Director.
Maraga said the failure to implement the taskforce recommendations had affected the independence of Kenya’s security institutions and called for the reforms to be implemented as the country approaches the 2027 General Election.
The remarks came as Maraga released the taskforce report nearly three years after it was handed to President Ruto in November 2023. The former Chief Justice had earlier given the President seven days to publish the report, promising to release it himself if the deadline was not met.
