IPOA chairperson: We are understaffed
By Nancy Marende, August 31, 2025The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) has expressed concern about being understaffed in the delivery of its mandate.
Speaking on August 31, 2025, IPOA Chairperson Issack Hassan revealed that the authority has only 77 investigators and a workforce of 284, compared to a police force of 125,000.
Furthermore, he revealed that though the authority is independent, it still depends on the Interior Ministry to approve its funding before the budget is sent to the National Assembly.
This, Hassan said, coupled with poor cooperation by the National Police Service (NPS), hampers efforts to conclude investigations and enable the prosecution of errant officers.
“We need the Occurrence Book (OB), whether manual or digital, and the arms register, among other things, for our investigations. Numerous times, our investigators encounter blocks,” he said.
“Luckily, we currently have a good Inspector General who’s more responsive to IPOA because there’s one who called our investigators busybodies,” he added.
He cited 184 files from the protests that broke out following the 2022 general elections and the Gen Z protests that erupted last year, which he said are still pending approval from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).
He said the authority is mandated to investigate complaints from members of the public while police officers file others against their counterparts, and that some are picked from the media, especially those of high public interest.
Other concerns
Additionally, the chairperson has raised concern over delays by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) in acting on several files submitted after investigations into abductions, enforced disappearances, and killings linked to police officers.
Hassan reaffirmed the Authority’s commitment to ensuring justice for victims and families whose loved ones were killed through unlawful means or disappeared without explanation.
“There are some files which have been concluded and are still waiting for a decision from the DPP, including those related to the Gen Z protests and the anti-finance bill demonstrations,” he stated.
‘We are committed to ensuring that there is justice for the victims of the families whose loved ones were killed by unlawful means by the police, those families whose members have disappeared without explanation.”