In the last two weeks, the National Police Service has come into sharp focus. There are shocking revelations that police officers are dabbling in crime after a few of them were nabbed by fellow officers.
From engaging in cover-ups by tampering with evidence at the scenes of crime, to erasing evidence for those willing to part with cash inducements and dramatic, often unsanctioned arrests, the police are all there.
On Monday, three police officers attached to Nakuru Police Station were charged in a Kericho court with abduction and extortion after they allegedly kidnapped a motorist and demanded a Sh2 million ransom. Two others were expected in court yesterday to answer charges of releasing a robbery suspect non-procedurally and sharing the loot with him.
In a clear sign that shows disdain for the rule of law and little empathy for the victims, apparently, tens of police officers from Nakuru Police Station travelled all the way to show solidarity with their colleagues who were facing criminal charges. In a further show of solidarity, it is reported that they raised the bond required to secure their colleagues’ release. While the accused are innocent until proven guilty, this is a clear manifestation of the festering rot within the police service that the Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinett must deal with urgently.
The law of Omerta, as practiced by the Sicilian Mafia groups, seems to have pervaded the police service. When otherwise good police officers stand in solidarity with their suspected criminal colleagues, perhaps to intimidate the judge or simply raise cash bail, it denotes something seriously wrong.
Cases of police officers engaging in crime abound. Last month, a traffic police officer based in Nakuru was arrested by Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officers and arraigned in court on a robbery with violence charge that involved theft of goods worth Sh70 million along the Nakuru-Eldoret highway.
A few days ago, police officers were implicated in an attempted cover-up scheme to exonerate James Ng’ang’a, the lead pastor at Neno Evangelism Centre, Nairobi, from a fatal accident. Mr Boinett got himself entangled in the mix and for some time he defended a possible killer without first interrogating the facts given to him by his subordinates.
While the police are expected to serve and protect the public, they have betrayed public trust and deviated from their oath of office. The police are now using their weapons to rob and kill the very same members of public they swore to protect. Pastor Ng’ang’a’s incident was a grave indictment of a corrupt service that shields the rich from facing the law for their indiscretions. The net effect is that public goodwill in stamping out crime has been squandered over and over again. The latest events have caused great damage to an already discredited service. What to do?
With the Independent Police Oversight Authority having decried the presence of rogue officers, the onus is now on the Government to establish whether the police reforms were cosmetic or have achieved anything.
The Inspector General needs to take stock of his officers and kick out the miscreants since one rotten egg ends up spoiling the whole pudding. We are not in any way condemning the whole service. Indeed, there are many good cops who sacrifice a lot for the public safety. It is, however, prudent that the service weed out the rotten eggs expeditiously.
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