The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) is under scrutiny for its failure to deliver timely justice following the deadly 2024 anti-Finance Bill protests.
Nearly a year after the protests erupted across the country, which culminated in the storming of Parliament on June 25 and resulted in the deaths of at least 65 demonstrators, only two cases are currently before the courts.
The delay, widely seen as a miscarriage of justice, has been brought back into sharp focus by the BBC Africa Eye 'Blood Parliament' documentary, Amnesty International's latest report, and a sharply-worded letter from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).
The ODPP, in a letter addressed to IPOA, on Monday, demanded that the authority urgently initiate investigations into the violent suppression of protestors and specifically the storming of Parliament during the Gen Z-led demonstrations. "Given the clarity of some of the footage and testimonies in the documentary, the Director of Public Prosecutions directs that IPOA urgently initiates investigations to identify and bring to account the alleged perpetrators, and investigate any misconduct or excessive use of force by law enforcement officers," wrote Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Jacinta Nyamosi.
