Police Brutality during COVID-19 in Kenya: Evaluating the Efficacy of Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA)

The law explicitly dictates the mandates for police officers. These mandates include enforcing the law, maintaining peace and public order and protecting citizens among others. Interestingly, the police were given powers to enforce COVID-19 rules, Lockdown and Curfew in Kenya. In so doing, few of them decided to engage in brutal acts by applying excessive force against citizens thus resulting to serious injuries and deaths.In light of this, the paper discusses instances of police brutality during COVID-19 period in Kenya, the role played by police during the pandemic and the scope and limits of police powers. It also interrogates the efficacy of Independent Policing oversight Authority (IPOA) in handling matters police brutality. Further, the paper have also delved into discussing the challenges facing IPOA and thereby recommends the possible solutions.