The Senate County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) has summoned the Inspector General of Police, Douglas Kanja, over what it has described as contempt of parliament.
The committee issued the summons after IG Kanja failed to arrest and produce Samburu Governor Lati Lelelit, who is being sought by the committee for contempt.
Speaking on Monday, January 26, CPAC chairperson Moses Kajwang’ accused IG Kanja of ignoring lawful directives from the Senate and directed that he appear before the committee within the next seven days.
“The Inspector General of Police should appear before this committee within the next seven days to explain why he is unwilling to implement the resolutions of Parliament,” Senator Kajwang’ stated.
He continued, “The police must understand that they do not operate under a different constitutional order. This committee will not tolerate contempt of Parliament by the IGP or his failure to facilitate the work of Parliament.”
Governor Lelelit has repeatedly ignored summons to appear before the committee to account for billions of shillings allocated to Samburu County during the 2023/24 financial year.
On December 4, 2025, CPAC fined the Samburu Governor Ksh500,000 and instructed him to appear before the committee.
Governor Lelelit failed to honour the summons, prompting the committee to direct IG Kanja to arrest and produce him before CPAC on December 18, 2025.
IG Kanja is a letter to the committee on December 18, said he could not trace the Samburu governor and therefore could not execute the arrest.
In response, the committee directed IG Kanja to investigate the governor’s whereabouts and produce him before CPAC on January 26, 2026.
However, the police boss neither responded to the letter nor presented the governor as directed.
This comes months after the National Assembly’s Committee on Implementation and Oversight of the Constitution (CIOC) summoned Kanja to address disputes between the National Police Service and the National Police Service Commission (NPSC).
Speaking on September 2, 2025, CIOC chairperson Caroli Omondi directed IG Kanja to appear before the committee on September 16, 2025, without fail.
Omondi faulted IG Kanja for failing to honor several invitations to the committee, saying it undermines Parliament’s constitutional mandate.
The Suba South MP expressed frustration that the standoff between the NPS command and the NPSC has dragged on for nearly 15 years.
“This will no longer be business as usual. It’s been 15 years since the promulgation of the Constitution, and police reforms still lag behind. Oversight is not optional,” Omondi asserted.
