Punish rogue police officers who are undermining war on Covid-19

Since the first case of Covid-19 was confirmed in Kenya on March 12, life has not been the same again.

The government has gradually introduced measures that require Kenyans to do certain things or behave in certain ways in a bid to contain the spread of the disease.

Although coronavirus is still spreading, the measures ordered by the government, such as social distancing, frequent hand washing, night curfew and restricting movement to and from some counties, have helped a great deal.

In fact, as the Health CS keeps on emphasising, it is these measures that will help us wriggle out of the invisible enemy's stranglehold.

However, although most Kenyans have taken the measures seriously, a few are still playing with fire. 

That's why the police have been charged with ensuring that some of these measures are observed by the public to the letter.

Without doubt, majority of the officers have been doing a good job, and when the time comes to reward the Covid-19 heroes and heroines, they will be among those who will be applauded or even garlanded. 

However, as usual, the rotten apples in the police force have been doing their best to make it to stink like a skunk, and even put Kenyans' lives in danger. 

There have been reports of officers who have let motorists cross their barricades to enter or leave the counties where movement has been banned. They have turned roadblocks into cash cows, caring less what their greed would do to the war against Covid-19.

Second, there are officers who arrest people during curfew hours and let them go scot-free after they fork out bribes. For them, it's business as usual, even in the season of coronavirus.

Third, there are officers who arrest and pack people like sardines in their trucks, raising the risk of spreading the virus. The concept of social distancing, which they help to enforce in matatus, doesn't seem to apply to the police vehicles. No, it can't be business as usual during this dangerous time.

Finally, there are officers - and they are many - who clearly lack common sense. Those who clobber or arrest people without bothering to know why they are out at night. In Nairobi, a popular musician is reported to have been arrested after going out at night to buy medicine for his wife. At the Coast, a man was beaten by police to death while taking his expectant wife to hospital at night. Only unreasoning brutes can behave this way. Kenyans deserve and demand better treatment from police at this difficult time.