Ruto nominates Issack Hassan as Ipoa board chair
Hassan is the former IEBC chairman.
11d agoSHARON MWENDERealtime
Former Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Issack Hassan has pledged to outlaw the use of unmarked vehicles during police operations.
Hassan who was appearing before the National Administration Security Committee of the National Assembly following his nomination to chair Ipoa, said the use of unmarked vehicles has been abused by officers who sometimes end up abusing the rights of Kenyans.
The practice also makes it difficult for the civilian oversight body to track violations of human rights by the officers.
The committee chaired by Narok West MP Gabriel Tongoyo was conducting approval hearing for the former election boss following his nomination to chair the Independent Police Oversight Authority.
“We should ban them from using unmarked cars,” Hassan said.
Ipoa chief executive officer Elema Halake made similar proposals when he appeared before the committee early this month to appraise the House team on the rampant cases of abductions and forceful disappearances.
“The authority recommends to Parliament the amendment of the NPS Act to hold police superiors criminally responsible under command for serious offences,” Halake submitted before the committee.
Hassan also pledged to make police officers accountable for actions including introducing the use of body cameras during operations.
“We must restore trust in our police force, we must get a police service which is going to keep law and order,” Hassan told the committee.
He also backed the proposal to extend the authority’s mandate to include officers from Kenya Wildlife Service and Kenya Prisons.
The Security Services Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023 sponsored by Bomet Senator Hillary Sigei seeks to amongst others extend the civilian oversight functions of Ipoa to include crimes committed by officers from KWS, Kenya Forestry Services and Kenya Prisons Service.
“I fully support the Bill because they are armed. They have guns, they also have police stations and nobody is oversighting them,” Hassan said.
The former electoral boss also promised to bring to closure the case of Wajir MCAs who was abducted three months ago.
“We will investigate, talk to the police service and DCI, even if he is dead, we want to know where he is,” he said.
Hassan is the former and inaugural chairperson of the IEBC.
He is an advocate of the High Court with 30 years of experience as a legal practitioner and consultant in various countries. These include Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Namibia and Afghanistan.
Before his appointment as the IEBC chair between November 2011 and October 6, 2016, Hassan served as the chairperson of the Interim Independent Electoral Commission from May 2009 to November 2011.
Hassan told the committee that he is worth Sh250 million consisting of a Sh150 million house in Nairobi, apartments in Kileleshwa, buildings in Garissa and vehicles.
The Tongoyo-led committee also vetted other Ipoa board members nominees including Ann Wanjiku, Micah Onyiego Nyakego, Boniface Kipkemoi Samati, Annette Mbogoh, John Muchiri Nyaga, Ken Williams Nyakomitah and Jackline Lukalo Mwenesi.
Appearing before the committee, Wanjiku said she would push to give Ipoa the powers to arrest and prosecute.
Wanjiku said the long delay in concluding some of the cases is most often caused by the fact the authority is unable to arrest errant officers.
Currently, the authority relies on the National Police Service to make arrests of their colleagues which sometimes becomes difficult as officers are usually reluctant to apprehend their colleagues.
“Ipoa having powers to arrest
will help in expediting some of
these case, ” Wanjiku told the veting panel