Psychopaths in uniform are a danger to society

For decades, it was the norm that those employed as police officers, forest guards, game wardens and county askaris have impressive physique. The more menacing the better because their trade is that of intimidation. For this cadre of workers, intelligence was considered of secondary importance, perhaps because they are conditioned to take orders with mechanical loyalty. The nature of their jobs does not require them to tax themselves with too much mental activity.

This unfortunate aspect of the security services borrows from the colonial times. The first police station was opened in 1896 at Mombasa to guard the British trade routes and businesses but was later used to expand British influence in East Africa. Decades after the colonisation of Africa, the indigenous peoples began violent agitation for independence. Naturally, the colonialists used the Home guards to brutally suppress the sporadic uprisings. To avoid crackdowns and harassment, freedom fighters took to the forest where they were less likely to be arrested.