IPOA Chairperson nominee vetted, advocates for police body cameras

Nominee for the position of  Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) Chairperson Dr Duncan Ojwang Oburu was on Wednesday tasked to explain how he will change the institution, which has often been marred by credibility issues in discharging its mandate.

The National Assembly Committee on Administration and Internal Security Chairman, Gabriel Tongoyo led the MPs in vetting Ojwang, following his nomination last month.

Responding to questions from the MPs, Ojwang said key among his priority tasks will be to push for installation of functional CCTV cameras in all police stations and having police officers wear body cameras while on duty, if he is approved and subsequently appointed.

Dr Ojwang also said he seeks to push for IPOA’s regulation of all other armed agencies and secure arresting powers, in addition to restoring the IPOA mandate to hold rogue police officers to account and speak truth to power while protecting the sovereign rights of citizens.

Other issues that he mentioned included dealing with extra-judicial killings and police brutality since the Authority is the eye of the public and must also be strategic in dealing with cases because accountability is not an option.

“Issues of extra-judicial killings and police brutality cannot be delegated to the Inspector General of Police. I have done dangerous things before and I am very courageous enough and trust me, I will speak truth to power,” said Dr Ojwang.

Another critical aspect he was required to explain was how he would deal with issues of deaths in police custody if approved by Parliament, a matter that has put the government in bad light.

Ojwang termed it as unfortunate and unacceptable that despite a strong bill of rights, people have died at the 'temple of justice', even as he insisted on the need for IPOA to speak truth to power.

"I have seen some suggestions that each police station must have CCTV, we know how much they have helped in the blogger Albert Ojwang’s case thus all stations must have functional CCTV. Police officers cannot violate the law and kill Kenyans at the temple of justice. There is no place that should be safe like a police station,” Ojwang said.

He also said a proposal has been made, as it happens in other jurisdictions, that the police put on body cameras as 'they police us'.

"The police must be accountable but also transparent and body cameras have been suggested. This is because the Constitution says the police officers must be accountable and transparent in all their actions," Ojwang said.

“Installing CCTV and wearing body cameras will be like killing two birds with one stone. Police officers must put on bodycams to ensure that they are not operating under cover while policing,” he added.

He also made a proposal that IPOA Act, 2012 be amended to give it power to arrest rogue officers as it happens with Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) which arrests corruption suspects.

“You cannot take time and spend resources investigating a rogue police officer and then depend on the same National Police Service officers to arrest one of their own. We need the IPOA law amended to give the authority power to arrest the suspected police officers,” he explained.

He also told committee there was need to grant  IPOA the mandate to oversight other armed units such as the Prisons Service, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), and the Kenya Forest Service (KFS), noting that a Bill is in the Senate seeking to bring the units under the ambit of IPOA.

Ojwang said he is worth about Sh50 million, even as he stated that he has previously served as Dean of the School of Law at Africa Nazarene University and has an over 15 years teaching experience at both Africa Nazarene and the University of Nairobi, School of Law.

His areas of expertise include Constitutional Law, Human Rights, Environmental Law, and Law and Development having studied in Arizona and Illinois universities in the US.

Similarly, he was part of the technical team behind the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) and the Building Bridges Initiatives (BBI) among others.

“I participated as a friend of the court during the contested Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) which sought to amend the Constitution and in the Tumaini mediation process for South Sudan, aimed at supporting the country’s transition to democratic governance,” he explained.

Committee vice chairperson Dido Raso, MPs Aduma Owour (Nyakach) and Peter Masara (Suna West) however wanted to know why he did not go to Kenya School of Law (KSL), which is a requirement in the country and has also not been admitted to the bar as an advocate of the High Court of Kenya.

“How will you administer the law when you have not been trained at the Kenya School of Law? Raso asked.

But the nominees said he trained and was admitted to the American Bar Association but returned to Kenya, where he started lecturing in universities.

Similarly, he tabled a letter showing that the Council of Legal Education (CLE), exempting him from KSL, which also agreed to admit him to the role of advocates of the High Court of Kenya given his many years in teaching law at the universities.

Ojwang, who vied for the Rangwe Parliament seat in 2013 but lost said he has no intention of vying ever again.

"I ran in 2013 and for now, politics is my ex, we don't talk, we broke up. I don't intend to go back to politics but that experience was important. It's not easy being a politician," he said.