Police should act within the confines of the law

**It is the duty of the police to keep the country peaceful within the confines of the law.PHOTO:COURTESY**

The 2007/2008 post-election violence is one that every right-thinking Kenyan would hate to see repeated.

That is because lives and property were lost in the flare-up that followed disputed elections.

Opinion was divided between those who felt the violence was spontaneous and those who tied it down to calls for mass action by the Opposition. And in the recriminations that followed, the real meaning of mass action was lost.

That, however, is so much water under the bridge and by all means, the powers that be; the Government, the electoral commission and the Opposition must ensure that despite the uniqueness of the August 2017 elections, the centre must hold to guarantee the country remains peaceful.

But because elections don’t run on straight lines and are never as simple as the alphabet, there are bound to be all manner of complaints from losers who might have genuine concerns.

The Constitution recognises this, hence the need for arbitration mechanisms and specific time frames within which disputes should be concluded to allow for smooth transfer of power. Disputing election outcomes through laid-down channels has never been a crime.

Based on that, it is disturbing that the police want to arrogate themselves the power to act outside the law by creating laws which not only criminalise refusal to accept election results after the August 8, 2017 vote, but the right and freedom of assembly and picketing.Tenets of democracy allow for free expression and the police have no right to infringe on that freedom.

Where individuals infringe on the rights of others like in disrupting political meetings, causing physical harm, vandalism, arson or barring others from accessing certain areas within the country, they must be dealt with as prescribed under the penal code. It is the duty of the police to keep the country peaceful within the confines of the law.