Utumishi Kwa Wote, so goes our police motto. It's
interesting that a department can have such a reassuring motto, and yet the
personnel are a vanguard of a disservice to all. The majority wallow in the
miasma of colonial administration. We promulgated a constitution in 2010 that
provided a comprehensive Bill of Rights. These rights listed in the
constitution are nothing but a reference as far as the police force is
concerned. They only glance at the rights but do not abide by them.
Police brutality is legally defined as a civil rights
violation where officers exercise undue or excessive force against a civilian.
For Kenyans, this has been the norm whenever police officers are involved. When
the president declared a curfew as one of the measures to combat COVID-19, it
automatically meant involving the men in blue in the fight. Kenyans perceive
the police as oppressors rather than protectors or enforcers of the law. Thus,
immediately after this announcement, social media was awash with memes
indicating how police will unleash violence. This, in itself, proved that we
have normalized police brutality. But we cannot be reproached for harboring
such intuition. Perhaps it's the way they do it repeatedly that has made it
appear normal.
From stopping peaceful demonstrations, evictions to imposing
curfews, brutality is the language the police will use. As the nationwide
curfew took effect on Friday evening, 27th March, cases of police brutality
were witnessed in certain parts of the country. There was chaos at the Likoni
ferry in Mombasa as police and commuters clashed. This was occasioned by the
residents' rush to beat the curfew deadline. On Monday 30th March, the police
were alleged to have shot a boy Yassin Moyo, 13, as they enforced a curfew in
Kiamaiko. The boy later died at Mama Lucy Hospital. Human Rights Watch and
members of the civil society have documented some of these atrocities.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) was
established with one of the mandates being to investigate deaths and serious
injuries caused by police action. One would reckon that such a body would
inhibit the police from using violence. But this is far from the truth. One
ponders why? Perhaps it is a case of the alligator being given the mandate to
ensure the crocodile does not prey on the goat. To imply they have done nothing
completely is tantamount to prevarication. At least in some cases, the wheels
of justice have rolled albeit slowly. Case in point is the suspension of the
officer who was recorded beating a student during demonstrations at JKUAT. We
believe more can be done impartially and with the utmost speed. Possibly when
the officers realize that action can and will be taken, they can be deterred
from unleashing violence haphazardly.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police commissioned a report in
the causes of misconduct in policing. They concluded that three systematic
factors have to be addressed in order to deal with misconduct in policing.
First was the pressure to conform to certain "police culture," such
as protecting the interest of the police who violate the law and a
"we-they' perspective in which outsiders are viewed with
suspicion—secondly, a command and control structures with rigid hierarchical
foundation. The last one was deficiencies in internal accountability
mechanisms. IPOA can borrow from the report to cure the cancer of police
brutality.
It is also our responsibility as patriotic Kenyans to shun
police brutality in totality. They invented a slogan 'Security starts with you'
well an end to police violence starts with you. Let us be law-abiding citizens,
record incidents of injustice, and condemn them vehemently. Let us understand
circumstances that the police are legally permitted to use force. It's shameful
as most of us are mute spectators. We watch as the few who speak have their
voices choked. We say it is deserved when it is meted out on our enemies and
neighbors. We only condemn and empathize when it is our 'people' or relatives.
Dear Security personnel stand up and have courage, take
cudgels against illegal activities. Be a savior to innocents. Avoid unleashing
violence vaingloriously. Resort to peaceful ways of solving conflict where
force is unnecessary. Help each other to see the error of your terror. During this
pandemic, we need your services the most. Together let us show the world that
it is possible to police without violence.