Top State House official Dennis Itumbi has taken aim at the Daily Nation newspaper, accusing it of fabricating facts and misreporting on the 10,000 police recruitment stalemate.
Taking to social media on Monday, the Head of Presidential Projects and Creative Economy was reacting to the Daily Nation’s September 8 front-page headline, which alluded to unsuccessful meetings between top police officials and President William Ruto that sought to end internal wrangles stalling the recruitment process.
Titled Inside State House Police Hiring Drama, the article claimed that the President had held a first meeting with Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja and his deputy, Eliud Lagat, on Friday, which ran well past midnight but reportedly failed to bear any fruit.
The second meeting was reportedly held at the Kenya School of Government with officials from the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) while the President was in Mombasa for the opening of the Agricultural Society of Kenya Show.
However, Itumbi debunked this assertion, claiming that the President was not in Mombasa on Friday, and accused the paper of knowingly fabricating that detail. He even cited his journalism background, urging the media house to verify its facts.
"Dear Daily Nation, stop with the lies, fabrications and fake news. The President was not in Mombasa on Friday," Itumbi stated.
"Some facts are so easy to verify! How does a newsroom so confidently lie? Facts, we were taught in journalism school, are sacred. But we are used to these lies."
On Thursday, September 4, the President actually opened the agricultural show.
On Friday, September 5, the National Police Service reported that the President had even visited their booth at the event and was received by the Inspector General of Police, Douglas Kanja, alongside the Director of Criminal Investigations, Mohamed Amin.
On the same day, however, he received a High-Level Panel of experts tasked with reviewing the African Union's Governance, Peace and Security frameworks at State House in Nairobi.
The Daily Nation’s report came just days after the NPSC announced that it was committed to ending internal wrangles within the police service, which have led to delays in the hiring process, as non-uniformed members of the commission and the uniformed ones disagreed on the recruitment procedure.
Speaking on Saturday, the commission's chair, Amani Komora, revealed that the NPSC would be adhering to new regulations laid out in the National Police Service Commission Recruitment and Appointment Regulations Act, 2025, in the recruitment process.
Among these regulations is a requirement that prospective police officers apply online first, before the field recruitment exercises.
