Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei has called on the Senate to summon Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja over a recent directive involving six senior police commanders, following a brutal assault at a Nandi Hills pool joint earlier this month.
On Saturday, January 31, 2026, Inspector General Douglas Kanja ordered administrative action against six police commanders following investigations and recommendations from the Internal Affairs Unit (IAU). The directive did not specify the exact measures, but typical actions include interdiction or suspension, transfer or redeployment, warning or reprimand, loss of rank, salary stoppage, or, in severe cases, dismissal from service.
Senator Samson Cherargei expressed dissatisfaction and demanded the arrest and prosecution of the involved officers and their superiors. "The canning and brutalization of young men playing pool at Nandi Hills Town, Nandi County, are criminal actions worth arrests and prosecution as per the criminal law," Cherargei stated. "We need immediate arrest and prosecution of the said police officers plus their superiors who committed the acts of criminality by beating up youth playing pool who had not committed any offence," he added.
The senator described the directive as a 'cheap' public relations stunt and urged the internal affairs unit and the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) to review their recommendations. He also called for the National Police Service (NPS) and IPOA to investigate and act on alleged police brutality in Tinderet constituency.
"These cheap public relations acts will not be accepted until arrests and prosecution are done. The least we expected was recommendations by the internal affairs unit to recommend arrests and prosecution," Cherargei said. "To IPOA, we didn't expect this shenanigans of public relations exercise while the victims continue to experience trauma and undergo medical recovery."
Kanja's order came two weeks after a disturbing eight-minute CCTV video surfaced on January 10, 2026, showing uniformed officers assaulting young men at a pool hall. The action targets the Sub-County Police Commander for Tinderet, the Officer Commanding Station for Songoh, his counterpart at Nandi Hills Police Station, the Officer in Charge of RDU Songoh Camp, GSU Songoh Camp, and ASTU Songoh Camp. "This action deliberately focuses on local commanders to ensure they are held fully accountable for all conduct within their jurisdictions," the NPS statement noted.