How poor housing push police to kill, kuhanya and lose wives

In July 2014, police constable Julius Otieno Kimore shot his wife Nelius Nduku dead before turning the gun on himself in Kasarani, Nairobi.

The 44-year-old CID officer based in Taita-Taveta killed his wife, who was two years younger, over suspicions that she was having an extra marital affair. The couple are said to have started a quarrel soon after Otieno arrived in Nairobi from his workstation over 500 kilometres away.

According to multiple interviews with police officers, the incident highlights challenges officers face due to separation from their spouses or girlfriends. This separation, based on the sacrifice to provide Utumishi Kwa Wote, is the source of adultery, fatal gunfights, divorce, spread of sexually transmitted  diseases and polygamy within the service.

At the heart of this elephant in the room is poor housing: “Even if we are given enough vehicles, equipment, money and fuel, HIV will not end because housing is a serious problem,” summed up a senior officer.

Another senior officer said the housing problem was ‘obvious’ and that he saw no need of commenting about. “They have to construct houses, but there is no money. This is something we cannot continue talking about, it is a waste of time,” he said before hanging up his phone.

Officers said adultery and careless sex were common within the National Police Service since the nature of the job tended to separate them from their spouses for long spells.

Lack of privacy was also cited with reports that in many Kenya Police and Administration Police lines, officers share cubicles and houses irrespective of their marital status. In some strange circumstances, officers of the opposite sex are made to live under the same roof.

“The result has been a decay in values and morals, low morale, high levels of stress and strained interpersonal relations between the officers. The housing problem is a major contributing factor to discontent and general lethargy in the police,”stated the 2009 National Task Force on Police Reforms that was headed by former judge Philip Ransley.

An officer who once worked in remote Turkana County narrated his embarrassment at the sight of a drunk colleague and girlfriend undressing in his presence. “He returned with the woman in the evening and in their drunkenness, started undressing. It was firsthand experience about what my colleagues go through in silence. To me, it was a really bad situation,” said the teetotaler who later rose through the ranks to Chief Inspector.

According to the officer, the remedy is in addressing the housing problem and skewed transfer policy — twin dragons that have left officers vulnerable to diseases — unstable families, revenge shooting and extra-marital affairs.

“The working conditions should be conducive in terms of housing and motivation. Housing is a serious problem, especially for married officers. The transfer policy is another thing that has been abused by some officers using it to either reward or punish junior officers,” he observed.

The unfriendly environment has inflamed frustrations, resulting in unprotected sex, spread of diseases, attrition and resignations, explained the officer.

Officers sharing houses find getting intimate with their partners a challenge. While those separated from their spouses as a result of transfers find themselves in multiple relations, others steal their colleagues’ wives and husbands working in distant places, leading to the spread of HIV and STIs, broken homes, polygamous families and revenge killings.

Jirma Buru, a retired police officer described the state of affairs as pathetic as it is not uncommon for senior officers to frustrate juniors in order to satisfy their sexual desires. “A senior officer will transfer you to Lodwar or Turkana then start sleeping with your wife. For instance, it is not good to assign an officer night duties consistently. Some women are promoted in exchange for sexual favours, while those who refuse to cooperate are punished,” he said.

Officers also said it was impossible to invite their wives or husbands to their work stations because they share cubicles. This means that the only opportunity to meet and be intimate is when they are granted permission for a few days or when they proceed on annual leave.

“There is a big challenge, the housing problem should be addressed as a matter of urgency. Sharing of rooms is the root cause of many family problems. Most wives are left at the mercy of vultures like teachers, pastors, chiefs, fellow police officers and boda boda operators back home,” said a Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), adding that officers should be granted sufficient off duty and leave so that they can link up with their spouses back home at least once every three months.

In a May  2014 memo, some CID officers were directed to share rooms with freshmen and women who graduated from the Kenya Police College in Kiganjo. The arrangement did not go down well with the affected officers who complained that it went against their rights and privacy.

“The DCI (Ndegwa Muhoro) has directed that officers under your command who have been allocated two-bedroomed houses to give a room to officers posted or transferred to Nairobi County as shown in the attached list,” read the directive signed by Peter Mwariri, the Staff Officer Quartermaster.

This month, AP officers at Uhuru Camp along Mbagathi Way, tired of suffering in silence for many years, revealed to the world how they never had ‘satisfying’ sex because of sharing their mabati cubicles.

“Even having sex is not an easy task because you fear waking up your neighbour or children. You have to do it silently. No noise. Further, you are scared someone could be watching you from outside. It is really uncomfortable and if nothing is done, we are scared our wives might desert us,” an officer was quoted in The Nairobian.

After reading the story, another officer claimed he was also a victim, having stayed at Uhuru Camp that hosts Security of Government Buildings (SGB) officers, who are also tasked with providing VIP protection.

“Actually, this is true. I have lived there and that is the story. It is the wish of every police officer that one day, a commission of enquiry will be formed so that officers can spill the beans. The writer may want to meet me, I have even more juicy stories of how that camp is a sex scandal,” said the officer in an anonymous email response.

He claimed that a colleague slept with his girlfriend when he was away on duty and he equally revenged by bedding that officer’s woman when he was away.

“My friend, kuwa polisi ni gharama na kazi ya uvumilivu (being an officer is a costly sacrifice). Take for example the officers in the bush. What do you think is happening to your girlfriend at home and what do you think will happen to you if I get wind that you pitiad (slept with) her?”posed the officer.