The Independent Policing Oversight Authority chairperson Anne Makori has welcomed the proposals contained in the Building Bridges Initiative report meant to transform the authority.
Makori said on Friday that if the proposed amendments are adopted, it would be easier to extend the Commission’s mandate to oversee other agencies, and not only the National Police Service.
“If the proposed amendments are adopted, Article 246A(2)(c) is of interest. It says that the Commission (IPOC) shall perform any other function prescribed by national legislation. That means that by a simple amendment of the Act of parliament, oversight can be extended to other agencies like the Kenya Prisons Service, Kenya Wildlife Service and Kenya Forest Service,” she said.
To effectively check the excesses of the police, BBI seeks to amend the Constitution to elevate Ipoa to an independent commission that will hold police officers accountable to the public in the performance of their functions.
“The commission is expected to provide an effective mechanism of oversight on the conduct of the members of the police service in discharging their work and their relation to the citizens,” the report states.
The commission’s chairperson added that being a Constitutional Commission, the civilian oversight mechanism over the work of the police will move a notch higher.
“NPS will achieve the highest professional standards possible, and the public will have a higher degree of confidence in their law enforcement services,” she said.
Makori also said that the recommendation gives fresh impetus to Ipoa.
Further, BBI collapses the Kenya Police and Administration Police Service into the National Police Service under the command of the IG.
The BBI report was unveiled by President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM boss Raila Odinga at Kisii State Lodge on Wednesday.