IG Kanja ordered to surrender police payroll to NPSC

MPs have ordered Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja to surrender the police payroll and all human resource related functions to the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) with immediate effect.

This came on a day the IG and the Police Service's top brass including Deputy IG Gilbert Masengeli and accounting officer Bernice Lemedeket were put to task by the National Assembly's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) over their continued refusal to surrender the payroll to the commission which is constitutionally mandated to oversee its implementation.

This means the commission will effectively be in charge of recruiting, transferring and retiring police officers- functions traditionally a preserve of the Police Service headed by the IG albeit contrary to the law.

"This committee orders you to handover all payroll and human resource functions to the commission immediately and not in one week. The chief executive officer of the commission should also write back to this committee to confirm that he has received the functions. We want the Constitution followed to the letter,” stated committee chairman Tindi Mwale.

He gave the directive during a sitting of the watchdog committee where MPs had summoned IG Kanja following revelations by NPSC Chief Executive Officer Peter Lelei that Kanja and his ilk had over the years intentionally placed bottlenecks that hindered the commission from executing its mandate.

Mr Lelei had a fortnight ago submitted before the committee that the IG had declined to release the payroll to the commission for audit simultaneously calling on its intervention to remedy the situation. He explained that the commission’s lack of access to the payroll had made it impossible to carry out a payroll and human resource audit.

He had appeared to answer queries by the Auditor General report on the NPS commission’s audited accounts for the 2022/23 financial year, which had highlighted the commission’s ineffectiveness in retaining control of the police payroll. The denial of access, the audit report observed, made the auditors unable to determine implementation of policies.

Article 246 (3) of the constitution empowers the commission to recruit and appoint persons to hold or act in offices in the service, confirm appointments, and determine promotions and transfers within the National Police Service. It is also charged with observing due process, exercise disciplinary control over and remove persons holding or acting in offices within the Service and performing any other functions prescribed by national legislation.

The Police service has  for years on end been undertaking the said functions and refused to surrender the same to the commission- a development that has set off supremacy wrangles between the two.

The MPs demanded to know why the Inspector General of Police's office has been acting in breach of the Constitution.

"The documents tabled here by the IG are not the payroll. Where is it? The commission is the employer of police. Why on earth would you want to deny the employer access to data in the payroll?” posed Lugari MP Nabii Nabwera.

“Should the IG feel that the Constitution was wrong in giving the payroll to the Commission, he should first surrender it to the commission and then come to Parliament and ask us to change the law. But I wonder whether we should have the IG seated as the IG given that he disregards the Constitution,” said Aldai MP Marianne Kitany.

Mathioya MP Edwin Mugo said: “There has a been a tiff between yourselves and the commission on who can promote who and who can retire who and we want to bring this to an end by fully implementing the Constitution."

But in his response, Kanja submitted that the service had made all requisite documents for audit available.

“The NPS has maintained a constructive, respectful and professional working relationship with the National Police Service Commission in accordance with applicable laws and institutional protocols. The NPS remains committed to continued institutional cooperation and full facilitation of the commission’s work in accordance with the law,” said Kanja.

The NPS is the accounting officer Bernice Lemedeket also told the committee that the payroll had been submitted to the commission for audit. “Yes, as the accounting officer I can confirm that we submit all the required information to the commission," she said.

But in a swift rejoinder, Lelei said the commission had not received the payroll and human resource functions.

“For the issues related to this audit by the office of the Auditor General, I have not been presented with the documents that I have asked,” emphasized Lelei.

This only prompted further questions from the MPs. “What is so difficult in you availing the payroll to the commission?” pressed the committee chairperson.

To which Kanja responded, “I want to assure this committee that I will give all the records and documents needed including the payroll to commission.”