President William Ruto has nominated Ahmed Issack Hassan as the chairperson of the board of the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA).
Hassan is the former and inaugural chairperson of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
He is an Advocate of the High Court with 30 years’ experience as a legal practitioner and consultant in various countries.
These include Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Namibia and
Afghanistan.
Hassan holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Law (LLB) from the University of Nairobi, a Diploma in Law from the Kenya School of Law. He also holds a Diploma in Contemporary Public Administration Management from Galilee International Management Institute, Israel.
Prior to his appointment as the IEBC chair in the period between November 2011 to October 6, 2016, Hassan served as the Chairperson of the Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC) from May 2009 to November 2011.
He was appointed on November 9, 2011, to chair the electoral body comprising eight Commissioners following a recommendation by Parliament. Hassan also served as a Commissioner in the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission and as a Legal Consultant to UNDP Somalia in the Somalia Constitution-Making Project.
Ruto also nominated the members of the IPOA board including Ann Wanjiku Mwangi, Micah Onyiego Nyakego, Boniface Kipkemoi Samati, Annette Mbogoh, John Muchiri Nyaga, Kenwilliams Nyakomitah and Jackline Lukalo Mwenesi.
The Authority’s core values include independence, integrity and accountability, impartiality, professionalism and accessibility. Functions of the Ipoa include investigating deaths and serious injuries caused by police action, investigating police misconduct, and, monitoring, reviewing, and auditing investigations and action by the Internal Affairs Unit of the police.
Other roles are to conduct inspections of police premises, monitoring and investigating policing operations and deployment, reviewing the functioning of the internal disciplinary process and presenting information to the court.
The objectives of the IPOA include holding the Police accountable to the public while performing their functions and to ensure independent oversight of the handling of complaints by the Service.
