Macharia Njeru, the inaugural Chairperson of the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), has alleged that he faced direct threats from President William Ruto during his tenure as Deputy President after refusing to compromise the independence of the police watchdog agency.
Njeru made the claims in a statement published on X on Friday, adding to recent allegations by former National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Prof. Njuguna Ndung’u, who accused President Ruto of systematically interfering with public institutions.
Recalling an early morning phone call during his time at the helm of IPOA, Njeru claimed that the then-Deputy President warned him of consequences if the watchdog authority failed to comply with executive demands.
“He called me early one morning, threatening that if IPOA didn’t comply, he and Uhuru would treat us as they did the opposition,” Njeru wrote. “I told him to proceed.”
Njeru questioned why some state officers and heads of constitutional commissions fail to resist executive pressure, urging public officials to uphold their oath of office despite political intimidation.
“I don’t understand why people in institutions fear a single man just because he’s President, but he’s not God,” he wrote. “We’re all mortal. As the Romans would say, ‘Memento mori.’”
Njeru, a Senior Advocate of the High Court who also served as Vice Chairperson of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), led IPOA from its inception in 2012 until 2018.
During his tenure, the authority established key precedents on police accountability and frequently clashed with senior government officials over disputed police recruitment drives and allegations of extrajudicial killings.
