IPOA Board Releases its End Term Report to Public

The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) board today disseminated its end-of-term report to key partners and stakeholders.

The report, earlier submitted to H.E President William Ruto on August, 20, 2024 highlights the Board’s achievements, milestones and challenges it has encountered during its six-year tenure.

The second Board will conclude its term on 31 August 2024 having served since September 2018, delivering on its mandate of enhancing professionalism in the National Police Service.

Presenting the report, IPOA Chairperson, Mrs Anne Makori said that the report serves as a testament to IPOA’s unwavering commitment to its mandate of ensuring transparency, accountability, and justice within the NPS pursuant to Article 244 of the Constitution.

“The report was developed using data from the Authority’s strategic plan, performance reports, and technical reports, as well as interviews and focus group discussions,” Mrs Makori said.

While summarizing the report, Commissioner Doreen Muthaura highlighted the history of the Authority, its mandate and functions and its strategic direction between 2018 and 2024.

Read current and previous IPOA reports here…

She also gave insights into the achievements of the various departments and the partnerships with various state and non-state actors, as well as the Board’s recommendations to the various stakeholders and incoming Board.

As highlighted in the report, IPOA received and processed 20,112 complaints from the public, demonstrating its commitment to providing a platform for citizens to voice their concerns. A total of 12,732 complaints were successfully resolved by the Authority while the remaining were at various stages of investigations.

IPOA conducted 4,865 investigations, leading to the recommendation of 773 files to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) for action. Notably, 30 officers were convicted for various offenses, underscoring IPOA’s dedication to holding law enforcement officers accountable.

In the same period, the court recommended acquittal of suspect officers in 64 case files, 52 cases were withdrawn while 48 cases were recommended for closure at the Court level.

The report states that IPOA monitored 514 policing activities and conducted 3,854 inspections in NPS facilities to enhance human rights compliance. These efforts contributed to improved conditions in detention facilities and police premises.

The Authority also developed policy briefs, engaged stakeholders, and tracked station-level recommendations to shape policies and practices that promote transparency and accountability in policing.

Among the challenges faced by the Authority include; the non-cooperation by the National Police Service, use of excessive force by hooded and unidentifiable police officers during the GenZs protests, refusal by officers to honour summons, IPOA’s reliance on the DCI forensic laboratory which is under the control of the NPS, parallel investigations by IPOA, IAU and the DCI and others.

The Board said that as it concludes its, several crucial tasks remain outstanding including, developing the Strategic Plan 2024-2030, further decentralizing services, advancing online repository and digitization efforts, pursuing legislative amendments to the IPOA Act to address mandate overlaps, implementation of the gazetted IPOA Regulations, reviewing pending internal policies and manuals, and addressing non-cooperation.

The outgoing IPOA board is chaired by Mrs Anne Makori, while the Vice Chairperson is Dr. Jonathan Lodompui, MBS. Other commissioners include Dr. Owen Ogony, MBS, Dr. Praxedes Tororey, MBS., Doreen Muthaura, MBS., Fatuma Mohamed, MBS., and Hon. JM Waiganjo. The Chairperson of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) serves in the Board as an ex-officio member.