Improving Police Accountabilty in Kenya: Curing the Shortcomings of the IPOA in Bringing an End to Police Brutality in the Country

Abstract

Police brutality in Kenya is as old as the country itself. From the time the country acquired independence, police reforms continues to be among the agendas of every regime that has ruled over Kenya. A trip down the memory lane reveals the colossus wreckage the Kenyan police have left behind and continue to leave behind in the ‘line of duty’. Whether it is suppressing lawful demonstrations or strikes with brute force or killing innocent persons or even suspected criminals in the course of their work, the Kenyan police continue to outdo themselves with each passing year. Sometimes trying to understand the mindset of these police officers in the line of duty may only be possible if one was to engage in explication or something close to that because what they do and are capable of doing defies human logic. In a bid to curb the aforementioned brutality, the governments down the years have purported to come up with some sort of police accountability mechanisms, mainly in the form of creating oversight authorities to maintain an eagle’s eye over the actions of the officers and ensure they are brought to justice when they slip. One such agency is the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) which has been in existence for the last 9 Years. Despite all the fanfare and hope surrounding its formation, IPOA remains unsurprisingly unsuccessful in its bid to ensure police accountability in Kenya. Since its inception and despite the thousands of cases and complaints of police brutality in the country, the agency has barely secured double digit convictions. Meanwhile, cases of police brutality continue to pile up. It is because of the existence of the facts above that this paper seeks to take a comparative look at some of the more successful mechanisms of ensuring police accountability around the world. In doing so, the paper shall be making a case for the adoption of the same in Kenya in a bid to ensure that for once since independence, we can stand back as a country and make a collective proclamation that indeed, we are on the road to redemption with regards to the issue of police brutality.