Police Executions, the hard questions

Time and again, the Kenya Police Service offers have been accused carrying out extra-judicial killings of members of the public.

Some of the murders so chilling, hard to believe. The gore scenes still linger in our minds, scenes of the murder of the human rights lawyer Willie Kimani and two others and their bodies dumped in R. Athi, just after being arrested by the police.

While none will advocate the wanton killing of people in the guise of fighting runaway crime in the cities, it is imperative that one appreciates the hard work the men and ladies in uniform do.

Recently I went to one of the police stations in the city to report about some items I had lost, including a mobile phone. As l was talking to one officer, whom I later discovered was in charge of the armory, when a lady officer approached us. She was not settled.

In full uniform, she was holding what looked like a jembe handle. The worry in her voice and beautiful face was evident.

She had come to plead for a gun so that she can, somehow feel secure as she accompanied his colleagues to the street, to arrest one the notorious boys, having received a tip-off on his whereabouts.

She pleaded for long, saying that a gun was better since the criminal may be armed and wild.

After much pleading and pestering, she was given a Ceska(sic), something, having been warned that that type of a pistol was reserved for senior officers.

She followed fellow colleagues on the assignment and a while later they came with the handcuffed suspect to my relief.

The incident touched me. I realised that even the police are human, they have emotions, they can fear as well.

They can also die, just like us they are not secure, insecurity affects them and they are a prime target by criminals.

The debate on the Eastleigh incident where an alleged plain cloth officer is seen executing an unarmed man has gone viral. Condemnations and praises in equal measure.

While I will I cannot condone the killing, I would like us to have a sobber debate, ask harder questions, instead of just blaming the police, whenever they shoot a civilian but keep quiet whenever a police officer is killed on duty.

What should a policeman or policewoman do when he is engaging dangerous armed robbers, some who even refuse to be arrested, worse they engage the officers in a shoot out? Should the police plead with the criminals to surrender?