Only a day after the Independent Police Oversight Authority report that put the police in bad light was handed to the Inspector General of Police, three people were gunned down by regular police officers in Kangemi, Nairobi. One of the three was an Administration Police officer.
Among other things, the IPOA report is categorical that there exists bad blood between the regular police and their Administration Police counterparts, an observation that could be vindicated by the latest incident and similar ones reported in Kisumu County a few months ago.
In 2009, Philip Alston, the UN special rapporteur on extra-judicial, summary or arbitrary executions said there exists in Kenya "a systematic, widespread and well-planned strategy to execute individuals". It seems that culture has not been uprooted. Eye witnesses and a fellow police officers at the scene where Corporal Joseph Makori was killed have averred the officer identified himself, stating whom he worked for, but the police went ahead and killed him.
Dagoreti police boss Rashid Mohammed has insisted the officer was involved in an attempted robbery. While that cannot be proven, one wonders how a committed armed robber, a trained officer, would allow ordinary guards with batons to lock him up in a small room awaiting the arrival of the police.
This argument is similar to the one raised in the case of police officers who killed a 14-year-old girl, Kweke Mwandaza in Kwale, claiming she had threatened their lives. Several killings involving the police are becoming a common occurence. At the coastal region where most of the killings have occurred, relatives have often pleaded the innocence of their slain folk. Viewed against the happenings in the country lately, it is more than likely the police are carrying out forceful removal of innocent civilians.
Yet, even as this happens, the police have covered their indiscretions behind the phrase 'mistaken identity'. For how long will Kenyans lose their lives to mistaken identities? Safeguards must be put in place to protect innocent citizens from trigger-happy policemen.
Officers allowed to carry guns should be subjected to psychiatric evaluations to determine their suitability to carry arms in public. Instead of simply demoting or transferring these officers, they must be subjected to severe disciplinary measures to dissuade others from repeating the same mistakes. The animosity between the Administration Police and the regular police calls for special mitigation before it implodes.
The Standard Group Plc is a
multi-media organization with investments in media platforms spanning newspaper
print operations, television, radio broadcasting, digital and online services. The
Standard Group is recognized as a leading multi-media house in Kenya with a key
influence in matters of national and international interest.
join