Kiambu County Police Commander Michael Muchiri. He has been named Police Spokesperson.
On June 25, last year, at the height of the anti-government protests, one police commander in Kiambu was literally between the hammer and the anvil.
Michael Muchiri Nyaga, the immediate former Kiambu County police boss, was under siege.
Hours after the Gen Z protestors had managed to overrun the tight police cordon in the city and stormed Parliament, another crisis was building in Kikuyu, the hometown of National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wa.
At the Kiambu County police headquarters where Muchiri was overseeing the operations, the number of distress calls was overwhelming.
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From the top police chiefs at Vigilance House and Jogoo House, the instructions to the police in Kiambu were that they were not to shoot anyone during the protest.
At the same time, the police were under firm instructions not to allow the destruction of property by the demonstrators.
At around mid-day, the officers were informed that the protesters had gathered in Kikuyu town and that they had started pelting anti-riot police with stones.
At around 2 pm, the situation on the ground was bad and things were threatening to get out of hand.
Muchiri, now the new police spokesman, was leading the team of anti-riot police in Kikuyu town where intelligence reports had indicated that the home of a prominent politician from the region was likely to be attacked.
Also under the radar of the protesters was Kikuyu Police Station, the sub-county commissioner’s office.
At around 2 pm, the first flames of fire consumed the Kikuyu Constituency offices as Muchiri and his officers battled the protesters who braved the hail of rubber bullets and teargas lobbed at them.
At the CDF offices, three vehicles were torched by the hundreds of protesters. As Muchiri and his team of officers lobbed tear gas to disperse the rioters, they became more violent.
They pelted the police with stones to the point that the anti-riot officers had to seek reinforcement from the neighbouring police stations of Lari and Limuru.
The battle between the protestors and the police lasted for over seven hours. By 7 pm, the police managed to drive away the last groups of protestors who were threatening to torch another government office.
“I was under a lot of pressure but I managed. There was not a single person who was shot by police officers despite the provocation,” Muchiri told the Nation on Monday.
Looking back at the events of last year, the police chief said: “I have no regrets. We (Kiambu police) did our best to protect life and property.”
In an interview at his Jogoo House office, Muchiri, who has taken over as the National Police Service director of communication, said his new job is well cut out.
“I’m here not to clean the image of the police. I am here to bridge the gap between the police and the public. I want us to engage and the public to appreciate the work of the police.”
“Police officers are not an enemy of the people. They are not abductors. We are here to save life and property.”
Muchiri takes over the communication docket from Dr Resila Anyango who was moved to the Diplomatic police unit following changes announced by Inspector-General of Police Douglas Kanja last week.
Muchiri is relying on his 34 years of service in the police to succeed where his predecessors have failed.
“I’m not here to cover up for the police. I want to bring the public and the police together,” said Muchiri.
On issues of abductions that have tainted the image of the police, Muchiri said: “If any police officer engages in crime, he or she will be dealt with individually. You will have to answer for your actions.”
He denied that police officers were behind the latest wave of abduction and crackdown on those perceived to be critical of the government.
Among the issues that the new spokesperson is hoping to achieve in his first months in office is building trust between the police and the public.
“I want you to trust the police. I want the public to know that police officers are good people,” he said.
Away from Jogoo House where he will be spending much of his time dealing with media briefs, Muchiri is also a family man who loves to play chess. He says he is also a fan of Liverpool.
Muchiri’s CV at a glance:
1991: Enrolled at the Kenya police training college in Kiganjo.
He was posted to the Kenya Airport (KAPU) as a police constable at the Wilson Airport in Nairobi. He served at KAPU for nine years.
In 1999: He was promoted to the rank of Inspector and again redeployed to the airport as Deputy OCS with a short stint at Kenya Railways where he served until 2007 when he was again promoted to the rank of Superintendent.
2007: Muchiri was posted as an instructor at the Kenya Police College Kiganjo in the senior training wing.
2007-2010: He was moved from Kiganjo and named the police boss in Loima, Turkana County.
2014: He was moved to Marsabit County and named the deputy county commander.
2017 -2018: He was posted to police headquarters, and the inspections department.
2018: He was named Kilimani police commander and served in similar positions in Kiambaa and Kangundo.
