Fighting crime karate way

By Oscar Pilipili

Alice kicks and punches with the determination and focus of an expert martial arts practitioner. Her white uniform is soaked in sweat.

The wooden floor under her feet is flooded. She has been kicking and punching with deep concentration for one hour.

Alice (not her real name) is one of the recent recruits of karate a fast growing sport. Her objective of joining karate: She has been sexually assaulted on her way home in Mukuru Kwa Njenga slums.

She eventually sought out the chairman of the Kenya Karate Federation (KKF), Sensei (Japanese for karate teacher) Caleb Atemi to enrol her in one of the many karate dojos (halls) in Nairobi. She has vowed that never again will any sexual monster hurt her.

It is not just women who are enlisting the service of the KKF; even Kenya PoliceForce whose officers have in the recent past been attacked, beaten and humiliated in public by criminals is seeking the federation’s co-operation to boost its image.

KKF national karate team held a three hour anti-rape and anti-mugging demonstration at Parklands Sports Club to promote the effectiveness of karate in defending individuals against knife wielding or rungu carrying attackers.

The demonstration that was co-ordinated by Atemi was conducted by national karate coach Sensei Bon Owiti and senior instructor Sensei Peter Ombima. Police Spokesman Eric Kiraithe was Chief Guest.

Kiraithe said police were keen to work with the KKF whose proposal to train policemen was being studied.

"We want to work with the federation to teach our officers karate defence skills for several reasons. A well trained officer will be physically fit, stronger and healthier and will use less force while apprehending violent criminals. Karate will also help our officer’s rely less on firearms," said Kiraithe.

The police spokesman said that if more Kenyans perfected self defence skills, there would be fewer cases of rape, violent attacks and robberies.

train officers

"We are studying a proposal by the KKF and we should soon kick start the programme to train our officers," said Kiraithe.

Earlier, the KKF Patron Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka had urged the federation to train not just the police, but also the military and prisons services.

"It is a shame and a disgrace when a police officer is publicly beaten in full glare of television cameras. I hope that the great discipline karate teachers have, will also help the officers to use minimum force and only when necessary to apprehend criminals without abusing their human rights," Kalonzo said.

"I laud the efforts of the KKF to fight drugs, crime and at the same time promote tourism using the game," said the Vice President when KKF’s Atemi and a Malindi Hotelier Roberto Mariani paid him a courtesy call last week. Mariani is the proprietor of Blue Marlin Hotel, where the KKF will hold International Karate Clubs Championship on March 25-30. Once the karate federation’s programme is implemented, girls like Alice will feel safer in local villages, estates and cities.