By Andrew Kariuki,

Siaya Governor James Orengo has accused Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja of operating under the direction of Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo, claiming the Executive is interfering with the independence of the National Police Service (NPS).

Speaking on Wednesday, Orengo argued that the Constitution grants the police operational independence and warned against what he described as political misuse of security agencies.

“The National Police Service is independent. Executive direction only applies on policy matters and not operational matters,” Orengo said.

He further alleged that officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) based in Nairobi were being deployed to disrupt Linda Mwananchi political meetings in Kisumu without involving local security commanders.

“I’m asking the Inspector General to be in charge of the NPS in operations. There is no way that we have part of the directorate in Kisumu at the regional and county level and still send officers from Nairobi to arrest people in Kisumu,” he stated.

“This is undermining the authority of officers you have on the ground.”

Orengo also directed criticism at Interior PS Raymond Omollo, warning him against allegedly using security agencies to intimidate political opponents.

“The Interior PS is not your superior on operations. We may have to inquire and take you into account if you are acting on the directions of Raymond Omollo,” Orengo claimed.

Embakasi East MP Babu Owino also weighed in, accusing unnamed officers of interfering with political activities linked to the Linda Mwananchi movement.

“You must stamp your authority and ensure your unit is not abused,” Babu said while addressing IG Kanja.

The Linda Mwananchi faction has in recent weeks accused sections of the Executive of sponsoring chaos at opposition-linked political events and has repeatedly called for the resignation of PS Omollo.