Committee on Implementation and Oversight of the Constitution (CIOC) of the National Assembly, which is under the leadership of Hon. Caroli Omondi, has made a decision that it will be necessary to call the Inspector General of Police (IG), Douglas Kanja.
The reason for the said call is the “continuous trend of ignoring the Committee’s invitations.” The MPs are saying that this behavior is diminishing the powers of the Parliament that it has been given by the Constitution. At a press briefing held at Bunge Tower, Hon. Omondi together with other Committee members accused Kanja of not attending several invitations.
They pointed at him that he is on the verge of establishing a non-compliance culture with regards to legislative oversight—a situation similar to what happened during the time of his predecessors. “It will not be the case of business as usual anymore,” warned Hon. Omondi. “After 15 years of the Constitution being in place, police reforms are still not up to the mark. Oversight, however, is not an option,” he went on to say.
The IG had a communication through the Speaker of the National Assembly in which he requested that the meeting with the parliamentarians be postponed by 21 days. Kanja mentioned the new appointment of the chairperson of the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) as the main reason and explained that his office and the Commission needed more time to hold a face-to-face meeting to discuss the issues amicably.
“The first thing that comes to my mind regarding the late communication by the IG is that it is like throwing mud in the face of the Committee,” remarked Hon. Umulkher Harun. “It makes us feel like we are not considered at all as a Committee of which we are not taken care of,” she went on to say.
Moreover, the IG was against a group meeting and later when it happens, he asked for a closed meeting only. He informed the Committee about the “delicate nature of the matter.”
The Committee declined the IG the complete 21-day grace and only allowed the postponement. As a result, the lawmakers authorized Mr. Kanja to be at the latest on September 16, 2025 without fail.
“We are working under pressure of time,” said Hon. Geoffrey Mulanya, a Committee member. This Issue has to be sorted out at once,” he stated.
The Committee also did not accept the IG call for a secret meeting proposal but rather insisted that a matter of such magnitude in the country should be done in an open forum.”The basic tenets of truth and public accountability form the foundation upon which this Committee operates,” stated Chairman Hon. Omondi. “We will not allow such important national issues to be kept under the veil of secrecy,” he added.
The Committee has rearranged the time schedule for the Commission and the IG to meet on September 16 to discuss, among other things, the police officers payroll issue.
