To ordinary Kenyans, IPOA is no better than a toothless bulldog

The Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja (left) and The current chairman of the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) Ahmed Issack Hassan briefing the press following Albert Omondi Ojwang's death in police custody at Central Police station, Nairobi. June 9, 2025. [Jonah Onyango,Standard]. June 9, 2025. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

The promise of police accountability enshrined in the Constitution and cemented by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) Act, 2011, is rapidly eroding under the weight of escalating police brutality and a perceived abdication of duty by the very body meant to safeguard civilian rights. As the nation grapples with the tragic death of Albert Ojwang, the actions of the IPOA, particularly its leadership, have drawn devastating criticism, fueling public scepticism and deepening the chasm of mistrust between citizens and law enforcement.

IPOA was established with a clear and crucial mandate: To hold the National Police Service accountable to the public, investigate complaints of police misconduct, and recommend actions, including prosecution. Yet, for too long, IPOA has been seen as a paper tiger, issuing statements and launching investigations that rarely culminate in tangible justice for victims. This systemic failure was glaringly evident during the Gen Z protests, where countless Kenyan youths, exercising their constitutional right to assembly and protest, have faced brutal crackdowns, arbitrary arrests, and unlawful detention, with little meaningful intervention or swift accountability from IPOA.

IPOA’s publicly available data reveals a troubling reality. Since June 2012, only 33 convictions have emerged from 30,493 police misconduct complaints. While 5,655 cases are completed and 136 sent to court, IPOA perversely frames these inadequate outcomes as its achievements. Based on these figures, the harsh reality is that it will take IPOA close to 60 years to complete the cases reported. With a conviction rate of just 0.1 per cent, IPOA’s track record pales in comparison to South Africa’s Independent Police Investigative Directorate, which, despite its challenges, has secured convictions in over 10 per cent of cases since 2012. The vast majority of IPOA’s complaints involve serious allegations such as rape, extrajudicial killings, torture, and arbitrary arrests and so its glacial pace delays justice for most victims.

The sad reality of rampant police brutality is underscored by the 2024 joint report of the International Justice Mission, Amnesty International Kenya, and the International Commission of Jurists, which recalled the fate of Baby Pendo, a child who died from a head injury during the 2017 post-election unrest. Shockingly, it took eight years for charges to be formally read against police officers in connection with her death. Worse, human rights advocates, including Amnesty International, contend that the charge sheet deliberately excludes senior commanding officers responsible for operations that saw over 60 Kenyans dead, raped, or injured. This ongoing pattern of impunity leaves a nation desperately wondering: Who ultimately guarantees their safety?

Undoubtedly, Ojwang's murder while in police custody has ignited a fresh wave of public outrage. Initial police claims of “self-inflicted” injuries were swiftly debunked by a post-mortem examination that revealed severe head injuries, neck compression, and multiple soft tissue traumas consistent with assault. This stark contradiction between police narrative and forensic evidence, according to most citizens, screams of a cover-up, demanding a robust, independent, and visibly impartial investigation.

Amidst the public’s cries for justice, the IPOA chairperson was seen standing alongside the Inspector General of Police (IG) and Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) during a police briefing. This public display of unity immediately ignited concerns over IPOA's independence, fueling widespread suspicion on platforms like X  that the Authority is merely “hiding behind ongoing investigations” instead of delivering the tangible justice Kenyans desperately seek.

This alignment, at a time when the IG and the DIG lead the very institution under intense scrutiny, directly undermines IPOA's foundational role. It creates an undeniable impression of complicity, blurring the lines between oversight and endorsement. How can IPOA effectively investigate alleged misconduct and deliver justice when its leadership appears to be in lockstep with the highest-ranking figures of the police force? The optics are damning, severely eroding public trust in an institution meant to be a watchdog against impunity.