A. I Executive Director, Houghton Irungu rallied behind IPOA, expressing concerns that Independent Offices and Constitutional Commissions in Kenya have 30 to 40 percent financing gaps, calling on the Executive and Parliament to strengthen funding into the institutions.
Mr Irungu urged other state and non-state actors to support IPOA saying police oversight was a great contributor to development, since it ensures that police act professionally and efficiently, this creating an environment for development.
Mr Irungu spoke during the launch of the IPOA Strategic Plan (2025-2030), where he praised IPOA for the document, which he said, would also guide the 2027 elections.
On the Presidential Panel on the Compensation of victims of police brutality, Mr Irungu said that it was important to note that even with the opportunity to compensate victims, culpability and prosecution must continue.
He said police accountability and command responsibility should not be back peddled by compensation, because the only deterrence to police criminality is prosecution and policing reforms. Compensation, he said, will only offer relief to the families.
He encouraged IPOA, the ODPP, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) and other agencies to continue to press for justice.
“We have seen IPOA grow and we completely are behind you and your concerns with regards to your defunding of independent offices and constitutional commissions. 30 to 40 percent financing gaps for us is a matter of concern and therefore we would call on the Executive and the Parliament through Hon. Peter Kaluma here present to essentially find ways of strengthening funding for the
independent offices and constitutional commissions. The other office that is very essential to IPOA work apart from the NPS is the ODPP. The gap between the number of files that you have submitted to the ODPP and the number of cases that are currently before our Courts is a matter of concern for Amnesty International and I guess to the public. That is primarily where the trust deficit with the public lies.
