The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) is under fire again, but this time from its own founding chairperson, Macharia Njeru.
In a direct and critical interview on Thursday, June 19, Njeru revealed that IPOA has lost its direction and credibility. He accused the agency of allowing internal rot and political interference to weaken its work.
Njeru, who led IPOA from 2012 to 2018, said the authority started to fail when it began hiring former police officers. According to him, this decision blurred the lines between the overseer and the police it was supposed to watch.
He said IPOA stopped being independent the moment it chose to work closely with those it was meant to hold accountable.Njeru did not hold back in exposing the deep problems inside IPOA. He said that by hiring ex-cops, the authority made it impossible to take serious action against rogue officers.
It became like a family affair, where one cannot punish their own. He also pointed a finger at political influence, saying politicians now control IPOA from behind the scenes. He claimed that politicians use their proxies to sit on recruitment panels and control who gets hired or promoted.
This level of interference has made IPOA a toothless body that can no longer act independently.He also dismissed the usual excuse that IPOA is underperforming due to lack of funding.
Njeru was clear that the problem is not money, but poor leadership. He said the agency needs to focus on cases that truly matter and stop hiding behind budget concerns. This is about priorities and courage, not how much money one has.
His harsh criticism came as IPOA continues to face massive public pressure over its failure to act quickly on cases of police brutality.One of the most painful cases right now is the death of teacher and blogger Albert Ojwang while in police custody. Another is the shooting of Boniface Kariuki during the Gen Z protests.
These two cases have angered the public, but IPOA’s response has been slow and unclear. Many are asking why it takes so long to get justice, and whether IPOA is really committed to protecting the public from police abuse.
Although the agency has summoned top officers, including Deputy Inspector General Eliud Lagat, many Kenyans feel this is just a show and not real accountability.
Macharia Njeru’s call to action is a wake-up call for IPOA. He wants the current leadership to go back to the original vision of the agency, which was to fearlessly defend the rights of citizens and ensure justice when police go rogue. IPOA was never meant to be a friend to the police, but a check on their power.
Today, it seems like it has become just another government body that protects its own and plays politics while ordinary citizens suffer and die without justice.
If IPOA wants to win back public trust, it must stop playing safe and start taking bold, honest steps to punish those involved in torture, abuse, and killings.
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