Premium
Set up for failure: How low budget is crippling IPOA
Independent Policing Oversight Authority Chairperson Issack Hassan and Vice Chairperson Ann Wanjiku in Nairobi on May 14, 2025.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) is choking under a backlog of 3,600 cases, which it is unable to process due to budgetary constraints.
The bulk of the pending cases are complaints from the public against the police.
The authority told the National Assembly committee on Administration and Internal Security during scrutiny of the Authority’s 2026/2027 budget estimates that, in addition to the 3,600 pending cases, the authority also requires additional resources to conclude at least 971 cases and support over 300 ongoing court matters in the coming financial year.
The authority Deputy Director of Legal Services, Festus Kinoti, told the committee they require additional funding to accelerate investigations, support prosecutions and clear pending cases.
“We have a backlog of 3,600 cases for investigation. We hope to finalize 971 cases and also undertake another 1,450 investigations,” Mr Kinoti said.
The authority urged lawmakers for an additional Sh1.1 billion in the 2026/27 financial year to go towards investigations, regional offices and confidential operations while undertaking their duties across the country.
In a bid to deal with the increasing cases amid limited resources, the authority Vice Chairperson Ann Wanjiku told the committee that it has so far introduced several mechanisms, including the development of an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) policy to handle minor complaints such as police inaction.
“We were treating all cases equally, but with the new Standard Operating Procedures, we can now prioritize public interest matters and fast-track urgent complaints,” Ms Wanjiku said.
Ms Wanjiku told the committee that by December last year, the Authority had closed about 500 files where investigations found insufficient evidence to proceed.
In order to reduce the high number of cases that come before IPOA, Ms Wanjiku told the lawmakers that there is a need to strengthen the National Police Service Internal Affairs Unit to reduce the number of complaints escalating to IPOA.
“Our Act requires us to oversee the Internal Affairs Unit. If the unit is properly staffed and funded, many cases currently coming to IPOA would be resolved internally,” she said.
Mr Boniface Samati, a board member at IPOA, pointed out that the authority receives thousands of complaints annually, many linked to failure by police officers to act on reports made by members of the public.
“Most of the cases we receive relate to police inaction. Members of the public report cases at police stations and nothing happens, forcing them to come to IPOA,” Mr Samati said.
The committee raised concerns over persistent delays in investigations despite an increase in IPOA’s recurrent expenditure from Sh1.406 billion to Sh1.457 billion in the current financial year.
Mandera East MP Hussein Weytan questioned the Authority on the expected impact of the additional allocation, particularly on completion rates, prosecution support and restoration of public confidence in police accountability.
“Given persistent public concerns regarding delayed investigations and backlog of police misconduct cases, what measurable outputs do you expect from the additional allocation?” asked Mr Weytan.
Follow our WhatsApp channel for breaking news updates and more stories like this.
