IG Kanja directs Internal Affairs Unit to replace arbitrarily transferred officers

Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja has ordered the Internal Affairs Unit (IAU) to immediately recruit an additional 50 officers from within the service to replace those who were arbitrarily transferred by his predecessor in April this year.

The recruitment will prioritise affected officers with good investigation skills.

Kanja announced this during his visit to the unit's headquarters in Upper Hill, Nairobi on Friday. He was accompanied by his two deputies, Mr Eliud Lagat who is in charge of the police service and Mr Gilbert Masengeli who is in charge of administration service.

The transfer of the officers had left the unit technically moribund and understaffed, with those transferred being exposed due to the calibre of cases the unit is mandated to probe. These include sensitive police excesses like the ongoing murder case against 15 officers from the disbanded Special Services Unit (SSU) who are being investigated over the disappearance of two Indians and their Kenyan taxi driver. The case is currently in court.

Other cases include that of police complacency in the Shakahola massacres, police conduct in the escape from custody of US fugitive and murder suspect Kevin Kang'ethe and the over 60 deaths that occurred during the Gen Z protests mid-this year.

In July this year, Busia Senator Omkiya Omtata wrote to the unit seeking a probe into police excesses in the course of dealing with the Gen Z protests, resulting in several deaths. He sought to have the findings of this probe made public in three weeks.

Omtatah said by dint of Section 13 of the Prevention of Torture Act, 2022, the Internal Affairs Unit is mandated to investigate police officers over the alleged excesses.

"I'm aggrieved that in spite of its all-important mandate and the deafening outcry on how the police have and continue their misconduct during the demonstrations, the Internal Affairs Unit has not investigated these police excesses," Omtatah said.

Other than Omtata's complaint, the unit is investigating yet another complaint that was lodged by members of civil society groups on the deaths from the Gen Z protests.

While the IG did not comment on the current probes that the unit is undertaking, he expressed confidence in its handling of serious complaints against members of the service.

The unit, composed of members from the APS, KPS and the DCI, is mandated to probe the rising and worrying cases of abductions provided a complaint is filed by the public, or a directive issued by the IG or the Directorate of Public Prosecutions.

As it stands, however, the unit has been struggling with a lack of funds, which consequently affects its detectives' mobility during investigations.

The IG was informed that the current poor state of regional offices and lack of office space in other regions, slow implementation of its recommendations by the DIGs, inadequate fuel supply, understaffing and a lack of houses to accommodate its staff have jeopardised some of the unit's operations.

At the meeting, the IG was also informed of several attempts by the previous Independent Policing and Oversight Authority (IPOA)'s board to allegedly render the unit ineffective by amending sections of the NPS Act that allow the unit to investigate serious offences committed by police officers such as the use of force and torture, and cruel degrading inhuman treatment.

In his response to the challenges, the IG encouraged the unit to work in harmony with other agencies including IPOA while dealing with cases of police misconduct.

He also promised to double the current weekly fuel supply, provide additional leased vehicles during the next allocation, provide additional funds to the unit to carry out its operations unhindered, ensure its regional offices are equipped to handle complaints from the public and ensure offices are identified in the regions to accommodate IAU officers.