The National Police Service Commission (NPSC) has denied having a rift with Inspector General (IG) of National Police Service, Douglas Kanja regarding the management of human resource functions.
In a statement dated July 17 the commission clarified that the purported standoff was based on misunderstandings linked to past audit queries and not the current state of affairs within the police service.
According to the NPSC, the queries raised by the Office of the Auditor-General pertain to the accounts for the financial year ended 30th June 2023 when former IG Japheth Koome was in office.
This predates September 2024, when Douglas Kanja began his tenure as Inspector General of Police.
“Our attention is drawn to media reports purporting a tussle between the National Police Service Commission and the National Police Service on management of human resource functions,” the statement read in part.
“The Commission wishes to clarify that the audit matters under discussion pertain to the financial year 2022/2023, which was prior to the appointment of the current Inspector General of Police, Douglas Kanja.”
NPSC Denies Having Beef with IG Douglas Kanja
The Commission emphasized that since assuming office, Kanja has fostered a cordial and collaborative working relationship with the Commission.
This, it said, has enabled the effective and seamless execution of the Commission’s constitutional mandate.
“Under his stewardship, the Commission has not had any strained relationship with the Service,” the NPSC added.
“The Commission remains committed to upholding the Constitution and ensuring a professional, accountable, and efficient police service for all Kenyans.”
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The clarification follows submissions made on Wednesday July 16 by NPSC CEO Peter Lelei before the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee in response to Human Resource Audit queries raised by the Office of the Auditor-General concerning the accounts for the financial year ended 30th June 2023.
In the Auditor General’s report for the 2022/2023 financial year, Auditor General Nancy Gathungu questioned why the commission was not fulfilling its mandate.
This included developing a strategic plan for addressing the human resource and welfare needs of police officers through the formulation and implementation of transformative human resource policies.
These policies were to cover recruitment, appointments, promotions, transfers, disciplinary actions, human resource audits, appeals, and police welfare.
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Leley Raises Concerns Over Payroll Access and HR Control
However, Leley told the committee that the Commission had been unable to audit the police payroll, raising accountability concerns about whether its decisions on recruitment and staffing had been implemented.
“We had difficulty accessing the payroll for audit to determine the implementation status of the NPSC policies and resolutions,” Leley said.
“We are static in accessing the payroll for purposes of auditing, the payroll to ascertain whether the decision of the commission have been complied with.”
According to the CEO, the relationship between the Commission and the police command had previously been very frosty.
The Commission sparked fears over the recruitment process, noting that there could be ongoing, unchecked rogue hiring practices or ethnic imbalances.
“If a Commission is not allowed to audit the implementation and status of this resolution, then it makes no sense,” Lelei told the committee.
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