Incoming Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai runs the risk of failure should he not be conferred certain powers in the powerful Intelligence docket.
A rights group is now pushing to have the new Inspector general of police, Hillary Mutyambai, financially independent from the Interior Ministry by having his own budget.
Financial independence will protect it from political and executive interference, the group said.
IG Hillary Mutyambai was sworn in on Monday. He spent years in the Intelligence Service and is an expert in counter-terrorism operations.
“Despite constitutional and statutory requirements on the independence of the National Police Service and the Inspector General, the Interior ministry has not transferred authority to incur expenses to the IGP,” the groups said in their list of expectations of the new IG.
The group which includes Amnesty International and the International Justice Mission had compiled a document listing what they expect in Mutyambai’s first 100 days in office.
The lobbies say that as the IG depends directly on the budget from the ministry, his ability to determine critical expenditures is shackled.
“The fact that the IG cannot exercise direct authority over expenses means he cannot independently plan, prioritize, budget and reallocate resources based on the needs and realities on the ground,” the document reads.
The rights defenders praised the 2018 reforms started by former IG Joseph Boinnet, which handed officers commanding stations (OCS) the authority to incur expenses in their areas of command.
“OCSs are now in charge of and can be held accountable for the public resources and respond directly to resources,” they said.