Storm as Ipoa claims rogue officers shielded

A storm is brewing after the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (Ipoa) accused the top police command of protecting rogue officers.

Ipoa Chairman Macharia Njeru led other board members in laying the blame squarely on Inspector-General of Police Joseph Boinnet, saying he directed key commanders to ensure no officer suspected of malpractices is investigated by the civilian oversight authority unless he allows it.

Furthermore, the investigators would no longer be allowed to set foot on police premises, he added.

Mr Njeru also revealed that the tussle has been simmering for months, and warned the IG’s directive has serious implications in holding officers accountable for their actions.

On Monday, a senior Ipoa investigator was “assaulted and injured”, then locked up in a cell after he served Kayole OCPD Ali Nuno with summons.

“This incident is a culmination of the obstruction Ipoa has faced in the last couple of months arising from directives given by the IG that no investigations on police officers should be carried out by the authority unless authorised by his office,” said Mr Njeru.

Mr Njeru, who was accompanied by other board members, told the IG that Ipoa is not a department of the National Police Service and, therefore, he should not expect any independent investigator and other staff of the authority to answer to him.

He spoke at the authority’s headquarters in Nairobi on Thursday.

Concerning the Kayole incident, Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko sent an email to Mr Boinnet and followed it up with an official letter directing the Ipoa officer be freed.

The Nation established that senior police commanders stood by Mr Nuno.