• There were 4,333 cases under investigation and others needing work as of June 2024.
• But in their terminal report, the former board members say their successors should ready themselves for a huge workload.
Image: / INTERNET
From backlog of police brutality cases awaiting investigation to frosty relationship with police and leaking public confidence, yet-to-be recruited Ipoa bosses have their in trays full.
The recruitment drive for new board members of the Independent Police Oversight Authority has started after the Anne Makori-led team exited office.
Their six-year term elapsed last month.
But in their terminal report, the former board members say their successors should ready themselves for a huge workload.
The board says there were 4,333 cases under investigation and others needing work as of June this year.
The drive to decentralise the authority did not bear much fruit, and they are hoping the new team would take it up.
“During the period, the authority targeted to establish eight regional offices, establish service desks at Huduma centres and set up satellite offices. However, only one was established due to constraints in budgetary allocation,” the report says.
The other unfinished business is the enactment and rolling out of Ipoa regulations.
Though the former board had drafted and gazetted the regulations, they are yet to be taken up by the National Assembly’s Committee on Delegated Legislation for debate and eventual enactment.
The report says the process need to be fast-tracked “to provide the legal framework for Ipoa’s operation, clarify its powers and procedures and ensure that its actions are legally sound”.
“This is for maintaining transparency and accountability in Ipoa’s activities,” the report says.
The former board was also pushing for amendment of the authority’s constitutive law to address some conflicting issues, expand its scope to cover other security agencies and to ensure it has the exclusive mandate of oversighting the police.
“[There is need for] amendment of Ipoa Act to cure inconsistencies in sections 2, 6 and 25 [and] to expand Ipoa’s mandate to cover other security agencies and to cure mandate overlap between Ipoa, IAU and DCI,” report reads.
“These changes would enhance Ipoa’s ability to a wider range of security personnel accountable for their actions in execution of mandates in line with article 239 (5) of the constitution.”
Other than NPS, some of the security agencies Ipoa is eyeing to oversight include Kenya Forest Service and Kenya Wildlife Service.
The yet-to-be recruited board will also be confronted with review of internal policies and manual of the authority to ensure they are aligned with the constitution.
Some of the policies and manuals the former board recommend for review include investigation manual, sensitisation manual, disability mainstreaming, staff welfare policy, gender equality policy, alcohol and drug abuse policy.
Others are workplace HIV policy, employee recognition, reward and retention policy, cooperation framework policy, corruption prevention policy and transport policy.
The report says Ipoa is awfully understaffed, which makes investigations drag on for a long time.
“[There is] heavy workload on existing personnel [and with this] Ipoa struggles to handle the volume of complaints and investigations, potentially leading to delays in addressing complaints,” the report reads.
Further, the report cites longer time it takes in the hearing and determination of cases emanating from Ipoa and that this delay has been eating off the public confidence it badly needs to be effective in its work.
Also, its investigators are not armed yet they are primarily investigating armed officers and this makes them exposed to attacks or reprisal attacks by officers.
This revives previous push by the authority to have their technical personnel, investigators and analysts to be armed for their own safety and protection as they carry out their work.
“[There are work-related risks and this] jeopardises the safety and well-being of Ipoa staff, making it challenging to conduct investigations and oversight activities,” the report reads.