Officers must use safer methods to control crowds

The death of a former mayor during an attempt to quell a demonstration in Kitui Town underscores the brutal way in which authorities react to contain protests. Ms Martha Mwangangi was killed when a fire engine truck owned by Kitui County was dispatched to contain the demonstration, but rather than use water from its hoses to control the masses, the truck driver ploughed into a crowd of demonstrators, crushing the former mayor to death. Former Cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu survived by a whisker, possibly saved by the action of one of her aides who shoved her out of harm’s way

The demonstrators who were protesting over the demolition of their kiosks are not the first lot to be exposed to high-handed actions by authorities when they are called in to quell riots. Newspapers and television programmes are replete with images of brutal suppressive actions by police and other security agents when they are deployed to contain demonstrations. And even when these images are broadcast to millions of viewers, often no action is taken against perpetrators of these high-handed actions, giving law enforcement officers the impression that they have the carte blanche to deal with protestors in the most violent fashion and they need not worry about facing the consequences for their illegal actions.