Questions raised over Swahilis, Asians and Arabs’ disinterest in police and military jobs

Kenya: When thousands of job seekers descended on Mombasa’s Tononoka Grounds on Monday for the police recruitment exercise, conspicuously absent were youth from the Swahili and Kenyans of Arab and Asian origins.

The youth  were also absent from other recruitment venues at the Coast, raising questions as to why they opt out of jobs that have been designed to take into account ethnic and other demographic profiles.

Is it a measure of superiority complex, hangover of colonial privileges or lack of patriotism for their motherland? Do the Swahilis and Kenyans of Asian, Arab and even Caucasian extraction despise the armed forces?

Owen Baya, a scholar based in Kilifi, believes arguments by activists to justify the near total absence of these minorities in the security forces are mere excuses because these groups simply refuse to integrate and serve the African majority.

Dr Baya says these minority groups still hang to the privileges and status they enjoyed above the natives during the colonial era. “They do not believe they should be serving Africans,” he says.

Baya, however, argues that although many members of these minority societies served in the security forces during the colonial times, they did so to subjugate the natives and in service to the white colonialists.

Africanisation policy

To the scholar, the absence of these minority communities in the armed forces is a testimony of how much they have not integrated into Kenyan society, for “they believe that serving in the forces after independence meant serving Africans.”

Asked to explain the stark absence of the lighter skinned Kenyans in the Mombasa recruitment excercise, Mombasa County Police Commander Robert Kitur was at a loss for words, only saying: “We have noted this fact too, but cannot explain why they have not shown any interest.”

“The recruitment centre was a sea of dark skinned faces with hardly a trace of the characteristic light skin that is synonymous with this town,” noted Mswabii Husein, who was hawking refreshments at the stadium on that day.

We independently launched a random survey to determine   how many Mombasa residents recall seeing a serving officer of Swahili, Arabian or Asian exctaction. Not a single respondent could remember any.

“I, however, can recall a number of light-skinned reservists who used to serve with the regular police,” said Mahfoudh Abdillah, whom we caught up with in the Kibokonui area of Mombasa.

 

Apparently, many Kenyans of Arab and Asian extractions served in the Kenya Police Reservists before independence, but almost none enlisted for the regular police service.

“This colour bar came into existence as a result of the Africanisation policy the Kenyan government adopted in the run up to independence,” notes Shabbir Talab, a community policing volunteer and Asian community leader.

 Mr Shabir says members of the country’s Asian community are keen on serving the country in the security forces were not allowed to join the mainstream police, military or intelligence agencies. They only had the option of joining the Kenya Police Reservists.

“We are not afraid of taking up security-related careers, that is why those who want to serve have to either go back to India to join the force. We have so many indigenous Kenyans of Asian origin serving in the UK, America, Canada and even as far as Australia. In Kenya, we are simply not given the chance,” he said.

For Pwani University Scholar Hassan Mwakimako, the reasons for the absence of these minority communities in the country’s security forces are historical and pragmatic.

Mwakimako says contrary to widespread belief, “there are actually several Asian and Arab officers in the armed forces, especially in the military, although they may not be as visible (as other groups)”.

He argues that the high number of Kenyans of Asian, Arab and even Caucasian origins in the police and military began to dwindle during the process of Africanisation and nationalisation of the forces and civil service. The minorities were discouraged from enlisting, he says.

Asked whether he would allow his son or daughter to serve in the force, Shabbir reiterated that most of his people would have liked to serve the country in the armed forces. “We were ready to work in the force. I believe that the police service would have been more effective if the efficiency associated with our people was incorporated in, say, the traffic departments like it is in Europe,” he said.

Superiority complex

Sheikh Muhdhar Khitamy, the Mombasa Branch Chair of the Supreme Council of Kenyan Muslims (SUPKEM), dismissed claims that Kenyans of Arabic descent feel that policing is beneath them. “It is hardly a case of superiority complex because so many of us are employees of the county council performing menial tasks like garbage collection and the like,” Khitamy said.

Dr Mwakimako does not think the racial minorities are unpatriotic for not joining the forces in droves because to begin with, their proportion in the general population is minute. But he believes that although the Africanisation programmes were abolished, Kenyan Arabs and Asians shun the forces because they are low paying.

The scholar says these minority groups absorb even their lowly educated relatives into family businesses and group entreprises. Mwakimako believes that although the Kenyan Asians are the least willing to join the armed forces, they tend to join the military at the level of officers as specialists. He believes a more visible presence of the minorities will boost the forces image and help national integration.

 

Sheikh Muhdhar is, however, of the opinion that there is a general disgruntled feeling among Kenyans of Arabian descent who feel that they have not been integrated in the country’s civil service. “It is a case of historical injustices gone too far because even other Government departments in the Coast are full of people from the hinterland. These negative attitudes need to be addressed first,” he said.

Human rights activist Hussein Khalid claims that many Kenyan Arabs and Asians consider the police service a tyrannical job.  But Fr Gabriel Dolan, a Catholic priest,  argues that besides the matter of meagre pay, racial minorities fear discrimination and a backlash if they become conspicuous in the armed forces.

“There may also be fears of being targeted, say when on duty in certain parts of the country. Such officers may also suffer from discrimination, not necessarily within the police service but from the community they are duty bound to serve,’’ Fr Dolan said.

Second-class citizens

Dhruv Budho, a Kenyan of Asian extract, decried the perceived restriction placed upon members of his community who want to join the forces.

“They (security forces) do not involve Asians as they consider us second class citizens who should not be allowed in such sensitive organisations,” he lamented. He also noted that the corruption associated with the force discourages members of his community who would not like to be associated with the vice.

“The rampant indiscipline and corruption renders the police and political systems of this country ineffective. Since we are patriotic, we do not wish to associate with the immorality. That is why many among us sacrifice our own resources to fight crime from the sidelines of the Kenya Police Reservists,” he said.

Inderjeet Singh, who has been a police reservist for many years, agrees with Mr Budho. “We serve the community in so many other ways and our membership subscription to the various organisations keep us overstretched to the limit. We are sufficiently patriotic, pay our taxes and would happily give our lives for the sake of this country, only we are not welcome into the mainstream security organisations,” he said.

“My eldest son wanted to join the navy but was disqualified on flimsy grounds and the story is the same for many other aspirants among our people,” he said. He however admitted that they may not have the numbers to be visible, saying this is another reason as to why they are almost non-existent.

Abdalla Muhammad, an architect born and raised in the Old Town section of Mombasa, blames this apathy on the poor pay security officers receive. 

“They have poor housing, no medical cover and the job is too risky,” he said.

“In other countries, an officer is a gentleman while in Kenya, they harass innocent people. We were not raised to be like that and that is why many of us would rather stay away from such tyrannical careers.”