Top security chiefs have met to discuss a replacement for the Commissioner of Prisons Gilbert Omondi, The Standard can reveal.
The officials met on Thursday night at Harambee House and made proposals on who should succeed the prisons chief, probably in the coming week.
Head of Public Service Francis Muthaura chaired the meeting.
Others said to be in attendance were NSIS Director-General Maj-Gen Michael Gichangi, Commissioner of Police Maj-Gen Hussein Ali, PS Internal Security Francis Kimemia, PS Youth Affairs Mburugu Kinuthia and AP Commandant Kinuthia Mbugua.
Although the finer deliberations at the meeting were scanty, sources told The Standard the name of George McGoye, a former deputy AP Commandant, was floated as the possible replacement for Omondi.
presidential appointment
McGoye is currently an undersecretary at the Ministry of Public Works.
Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka is expected to endorse McGoye followed by an appointment by President Kibaki.
Omondi’s replacement is part of recommendations made by a report on the Prisons Department.
The report compiled by a team led by former MP Marsden Madoka details cases of corruption, mismanagement, land grabbing, nepotism and other ills that have bedevilled the country’s correctional services over the years.
Kalonzo, who is also the minister for Home Affairs, picked the Madoka team after the warders went on strike to protest against the Government’s failure to pay them a risk allowance like their colleagues in other disciplined forces.
At the time, the warders said they were denied the allowance yet they had helped quell post-election violence.
Says the report: "The crisis facing the institution roots from a history of neglect."
Prisons officers complained to the committee that promotions were done on the basis of ethnicity, nepotism, political alignment and corruption.
The team established prisons suffer an acute shortage of housing for staff. There are 3,660 houses against a staff strength of 17,177.
And although most of its officers lived in shacks, the department did not use the Sh480 million allocated to in the last two financial years to build houses. Instead it only spent Sh348 million.
The development came as anxiety continued to grip the institution following recommendations by a taskforce for an overhaul of its leadership. The idea of bringing in an army or GSU officer to head the department was dropped.
Other sources said a civilian could be brought in to head the badly tainted outfit and transform it to international standards.
Apart from having a new Commissioner of Prisons, authorities have also considered picking new assistants.
The committee, which investigated the causes of the warders’ strike recommended that the entire leadership of the Kenya Prisons Service be sacked and in some cases, face court action.
Reads part of the report: "The Prisons Department urgently needs a change in leadership... to root out strongly embedded practices such as corruption."
The committee recommended that new leadership be put in place within a year.
The fate of nine senior officers who were interdicted, charged before court and later reinstated is still unclear following reports that they could not resume work without a "directive from above".
But officers who spoke to The Standard claimed the composition of the committee was aimed at kicking out some senior officers to pave way for favoured individuals.
"We understand officials want to lobby for their kin to lead the Prisons Department and that is why the committee was picked up," said an officer who did not wish to be named.
The officers said former Vice-President Moody Awori filed a report after similar studies on the institution yet nothing was done.
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