Former Chief Justice David Maraga has pledged to uphold the independence of the police service and refrain from using state security agencies to suppress dissent, if he is elected president in the 2027 General Election.
Speaking during an interview on The Big Picture on June 30, 2025, Maraga criticised the politicisation of the National Police Service, attributing the latter to current laws, which he argues have undermined the service’s autonomy by allowing political influence over the appointment of top officers.
The former chief justice particularly expressed concern over the 2015 amendments to the National Police Service Act, which allowed the president to appoint the Inspector General without a competitive recruitment process, arguing that such changes had eroded the service’s autonomy.
“The police, the National Police Service, is a national institution which is supposed to serve the country. In 2015, there was an amendment to the Police Act. Interestingly, a miscellaneous amendment that stated that the Inspector General of the Police shall be appointed by the President and vetted by parliament. There’s no competitive recruitment. What has that done to the police? It has removed that independence,” Maraga explained.
Police independence
He lamented that, under this framework, the police may be used to serve political interests instead of protecting the public and upholding the rule of law.
However, Maraga maintained that true independence meant the police should be able to refuse unlawful political instructions.
He emphasised that, while the president can give lawful orders to the security services, those orders must be grounded in legality and not political expediency.
“If the President were to give orders, the IG is supposed to say, ‘Your Excellency, I’m sorry, we cannot do that. It is against the law.’ Can that happen today?” he posed.
Maraga further explained that the Inspector General must be empowered to reject unlawful instructions, particularly those aimed at targeting political opponents.
“When it comes to politics and the president is saying, ‘Look, I don’t like him, can you deal with him?’ The IG is supposed to say, ‘No, I mean, what is the basis? As far as we can see, there is no offence he has committed,’” he stated.
Operational freedom
The former Chief Justice distanced himself from any form of authoritarianism, pledging not to weaponise law enforcement for political gain.
“I would never weaponise the police. The police are supposed to act independently within the law,” Maraga affirmed.
He acknowledged that, despite the president, as commander-in-chief, having lawful authority over the security apparatus, the operational freedom of the police must be protected.
“What the independence I mean is that they have the freedom of operation. They are supposed to map the security situation in the country and actually advise the president. And if there is anything that threatens internal security, even before the president tells them, they know what to do,” Maraga stated.
