After being ill and being admitted to the hospital, Inspector General of Police Hilary Mutyambai has designated his deputy Noor Gabow to take over as the police chief.

From August 26, according to Mutyambai, he would be out of the office undergoing a medical examination.

“This is to inform the general public that I will be away from the office attending to a medical checkup effective today, 26th August 2022.”

“In my absence, Noor Gabow, the Deputy Inspector General - Administration Police Service, will act as the Inspector General of the National Police Service until my return,” he said in a statement.

It is the first time under his term for Mutyambai to delegate his mandate for medical reasons.

Gabow is not new to the position as he is from the general duty and it will be easy for him to manage the police operations for now.

This came amid reports that Mutyambai was Thursday rushed to hospital after he collapsed at his Nairobi home.

The officer was in his Karen residence when he complained of difficulties in breathing and collapsed.

His escort team had dropped him home earlier on and was preparing for Friday’s work.

His wife and workers raised alarm and sentry officials joined in rushing him to a high-end private hospital for treatment.

Officials said he was admitted to the Aga Khan hospital’s high dependency unit (HDU).

The HDU is a specialist ward providing intensive care (treatment and monitoring) for critically ill people.

A relative and friends of the senior police officer said the patient was responding well to treatment.

It is not clear what caused the incident.