Change behaviour of police, not uniform

The National Police Service (NPS) is once again planning to change the uniform of police officers. In 2018, NPS introduced a Persian blue uniform for police officers, ostensibly to increase visibility. Unfortunately, the uniform drew derision from the public and became the butt of jokes.

That could partly be the reason NPS top brass went back to the drawing board and came up with a uniform close to the Azure blue that was phased out in 2018. However, it is important to ask; do we really need a change of police uniform at this point in time when the country is struggling economically?

Kenyans are yet to see benefits accruing from the much-touted 2011 police reforms that effectively transformed the police from being a ‘Police Force’ to a ‘Police Service’. Efforts are yet to be made to win public trust in a police service that reputable institutions like Transparency International have ranked at the top of corruption charts in Kenya for years on end.

The conduct of police officers during recent demonstrations called by the Opposition to protest the high cost of living highlighted the brutality of police officers and their disregard for human rights and constitutional provisions, like the right to peaceful picketing. Corruption in the police service has become a symbol of national shame, yet little is being done to stop it.

Fingers have consistently pointed at the police for brutality and extra judicial killings that continue to rock the country. Moreover, many police officers still live in tin houses and shovels in some parts of the country. They deserve decent housing and better working conditions, not new uniform that add no discernible value to the aspect of policing.

As a country, we must get our priorities right. Government mandarins cannot continually regale Kenyans with tales about empty national coffers but go ahead to spend the little money available on buying new police uniform, even before the ones they acquired recently have faded. It is not lost on the public that a lot of the taxpayer’s money went into procuring the new set of uniform.