Ruto’s police commission nominees sidestep payroll dispute, pledge reforms and anti-corruption drive

President William Ruto’s nominees to the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) faced pointed questions from MPs over the Sh60 billion police payroll row but avoided giving direct answers on the matter.

The law gives the NPSC full authority over police human resource functions, yet the payroll remains under the custody of Inspector General Douglas Kanja. Parliament recently directed the IG to hand payroll management to the commission.

Appearing before the National Assembly Committee on National Administration on Wednesday, nominee Amani Komora described the payroll issue as “very sensitive” and called for cooperation rather than confrontation.

“We will eventually get to agree on where the payroll sits. I don’t think we have to fight over positioning instead of the fact why we exist as a commission,” Komora told MPs.

Komora, who declared assets worth Sh102 million, pledged to strengthen collaboration between the commission and the National Police Service and to tackle systemic corruption, which has consistently ranked the police as Kenya’s most corrupt institution.

“It is not good that every other year the NPS remains at the top for bad reasons. This is systemic corruption,” he said, adding that he would work with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to address the vice.

The committee also vetted nominee Angeline Siparo, who said she would focus on supporting police officers facing mental health challenges through her background in human resource management and counselling.

“The greatest legacy I will leave is what I will do for the people of Kenya,” Siparo stated.