National Police Service (NPS) Spokesman, Charles Owino, on Thursday broke his silence on the National Super Alliance (NASA) swearing-in ceremony stating that security will not be provided for an illegitimate process.
In an article published by The Star, he noted that the service was apolitical and will not be drawn into political affairs.
He explained that the law was clear on election matters adding that the service will conduct its affairs in accordance with the Constitution.
"As a police service, we are apolitical and we would not want to be drawn into a political contest. We have to work within the law. When someone says he is going to be sworn in, we cannot be party to it because we are officers of the law.
[caption caption="File image of Inspector General Joseph Boinett and Charles Owino"]
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"The laws say there shall be an election every five years and we had an election, this election was contested in court, it was nullified, there was a repeat election; during the repeat, the person who now wants to be sworn in withdrew - did not participate, a person who did not participate says, according to him, he won the first election, which he contested and it was nullified - he contested that election which he now says is his basis for his being sworn in. But it was nullified," he stated.
Mr Owino stated that the NPS recognized the re-election of President Uhuru Kenyatta which was finalised in November 2017 when the Head of State and his deputy took the oath of office.
"From where we sit, there was an election process and that process was concluded. We as the NPS do not declare anyone the President it is done by the chairman of the IEBC, so to us, the person whom the IEBC declared the President was Uhuru Kenyatta.
"The person the IEBC and the Supreme Court have declared and confirmed is President is Uhuru Kenyatta, so any other process that comes now in law is an illegitimate process and it is a political issue and we don’t deal with political issues. We cannot provide security to an illegitimate process in law," Owino explained in the article.
Addressing the issue of the Tuesday swearing-in ceremony planned by NASA, he noted that the coalition withdrew from the repeat poll and have no basis to conduct an inauguration.
[caption caption="File image of Raila Odinga being inaugurated as Prime Minister in 2008"]
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The Police Spokesman further divulged that as a service, maintaining law and order was their main duty and as such, they will stick doing that and avoid being drawn into political matters.
"We are officers of the law and work strictly within the law. You cannot contest us; you cannot throw your tantrums at the police the way you throw them at the IEBC, at the Supreme Court
"We provide the law, are apolitical and we don't want to be thrown into political issues and our duty is to protect the lives and property of the Kenyans," he stated.
