Africa-Press – Kenya. The National Police Service Commission (NPSC) has denied claims of a rift with the National Police Service (NPS) regarding the management of human resource functions.
In a statement on Thursday, July 17, the NPSC 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 issues predate September 2024, when Douglas Kanja began his tenure as Inspector General of Police.
“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, Mr Douglas Kanja,” a statement from the NPSC said.
The clarification came after the NPSC appeared before the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to respond to concerns raised by the Office of the Auditor-General regarding financial accounts for the year ending June 30, 2023.
Speaking during a session with the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee on Wednesday, July 16, NPSC CEO Peter 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 are static in accessing the payroll for purposes of auditing, the payroll to ascertain whether the decision of the commission have been complied with,” Leley said.
However, in their statement, the NPSC emphasised that since Kanja took office, there has been a “cordial and collaborative working relationship” with the Commission, enabling the seamless execution of each agency’s constitutional mandate.
“There has not been any strained relationship with the Service under Mr Kanja’s stewardship,” the statement added.
Incidentally, the commission’s response came barely 24 hours after media reports suggesting that IG Kanja had blocked access to the police payroll, effectively hampering audit efforts by the NPSC.
Further reports indicated that the commission raised concerns with parliament, raising alarm over obstruction and lack of cooperation from the NPS in reviewing salary-related documents. These claims fuelled speculation of underlying friction between the NPS and NPSC.
These claims have since been refuted by the NPSC, who insist the alleged ‘turf war’ between the two agencies did not reflect the current reality.
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