Police reforms appear off course given recent conduct of officers

A scared woman hides behind riot police in Kibera slum in Nairobi on August 12, 2017. Photo: AFP

During the post-election violence and its aftermath in 2007, the police force came into sharp focus. There was abundant evidence that the police were not just doing their work of maintaining law and order but became partisan agents of the PNU government under President Kibaki to perpetuate violence and brutality upon innocent Kenyans.

Their conduct was so bad that the commission of inquiry in the post-election violence implicated the police in the violence and killings. The commission and the UN Special Rapporteur recommended serious reforms for the police force. Ten years down the road, Kenyans are asking whether anything has really changed.

Police reforms

Justice (Retired) Ransley, who headed the National Task Force on Police Reforms, came up with far-reaching suggestions and recommendations which the Government has half-heartedly tried to implement. The lack of political will was demonstrated by the many laws that the Jubilee government sponsored in Parliament to gain total control of the security sector and apparatus.

The vetting of the police was hailed as a great breakthrough for the country. It was however a breakthrough that never was. The officers who were supposed to be kicked out stayed on due to political patronage and corrupt networks. Even the ones who were kicked out still remain a danger to the public since no proper mechanism was put in place to monitor their movements and activities.

A number of them were in the prime of their careers and prone to manipulation by criminal elements. Further, with no source of livelihood, the temptation to fend for their families from the proceeds of crime are extremely high.

According to our Constitution, the police are supposed to be professional, accountable, to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms at all times. The events of the past one week have clearly demonstrated the police force is far from meeting the credibility standards laid down in the Constitution. They appeared to be clearly serving under the current Government to suppress dissent using strong-arm tactics.

The demonstration that followed the aftermath of the announcement of presidential elections was met with pure brute force. The police, in trying to combat the youth, were firing live bullets, entering into people’s houses and beating them with gun butts and other blunt objects. The ferocity with which the police dealt with the residents of Kisumu was not about maintaining law and order. It was about driving a particular message to the people.

The message was that the police were prepared to shoot and maim. They were clearly not acting independently but under political control and direction of powerful political honchos. Innocent children, men and women got injured not only on the streets but in their houses after police officers gained entry forcibly.

The police action reminds one of the Kanu era days where the police were used by political leaders not just to suppress the opposition but to brutalise the innocent members of the public who sometimes were fighting for a just cause. This state of affairs cannot be allowed to go on. The police service commission must investigate the activities of its officers and the ones found culpable be brought to book.

The United Nations International Police task force was clear that in a democratic society, the police must serve to protect, rather than impede freedoms and the very purpose of the police is to provide safety and an orderly environment where freedoms can be exercised. Breaking into homes and killing innocent civilians is not one of the ways of assisting ordinary citizens enjoy their freedoms. They must be held accountable for their actions.

Interference

Finally, it is clear that despite the country struggling to set up various institutions to hold the police to account, there still is undue interference by powerful individuals. The police still engage in extra-judicial killings and have failed to respond professionally in handling demonstrators.

Mwamu is the former President of East Africa Law Society and an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya.