Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja has been ordered to immediately transfer all accounting and human resource functions of the National Police Service (NPS) to the National Police Service Commission (NPSC).
The directive followed a session where both the NPS and NPSC appeared before the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), chaired by Butere MP Tindi Mwale on Tuesday.
Mwale issued the order after MPs expressed anger over the police's refusal to hand over key documents. He directed the IG and the accounting officer of NPS to surrender all accounting documents, including payroll details, to the commission without delay.
"You do not give the commission access but instead hand over all the HR functions to the commission as soon as you get back to the office," Mwale directed.
Additionally, PAC instructed the CEO of NPSC to write to the committee confirming receipt of the documents within two weeks from the date of submission.
Lawmakers also urged both institutions to work towards a more cordial relationship, stressing that their standoff was affecting the proper functioning of the police service.
PAC Chair Tindi Mwale defended the directive, stating that recruitment, promotions, and administrative duties should be handled professionally under the commission’s oversight.
“The relationship between the two should be cordial. To the IG, some of these functions might land you in problems even when they are not yours. Give the commission the functions, and it will improve its effectiveness. Even security in Kenya will improve,” he added.
The developments followed claims by the commission alleging that the police leadership was blocking its oversight role by denying access to critical payroll records.
During the PAC session held on July 16, NPSC CEO Peter Leley said they had been denied access to audit the payroll, despite an official request by the Auditor General.
Leley told the committee that the commission was unable to verify if its directives on staffing and recruitment had been implemented.
“We are static in accessing the payroll for purposes of auditing to ascertain whether the decisions of the commission have been complied with,” he said.
