We can fight terror without rolling back freedom gains

It has been a week of heated debate. And no, I am not annoyed because the country has finally got round to discussing the crucial matter of national security, just days after more than 64 people were massacred by Al-Shabaab militants. I am annoyed because everyone is reacting to the wave of insecurity in a knee-jerk fashion. We have lost all sense of perspective, cool and respect for our country.

First, we are not having a sober debate about it. The unions and politicians are asking people to move out of affected areas, as if that is a permanent solution even when we all know the enemy would love to attack us from any corner. So instead of soberly asking ourselves what we need to do, the politicians have decided to answer that question with an eye not on solutions, but the 2017 polls.

The Government side has been pushing for some draconian laws that would bring back the days of Big Brother eavesdropping on your calls and deciding - on the streets - whether you look like a terrorist up to some sinister motive and dispensing ‘justice’ forthwith. The trouble with this gung-ho approach is that it is prone to abuse. Just a few years ago, there was uproar that special security teams formed to handle various types of crimes – remember the Kwe Kwe squad – were perpetrating extra-judicial killings. For me, while we understand that the country needs to do something now to protect citizens and their property, I find it unbelievably preposterous to suggest that journalists should be asking for permission from the police before publishing. Ok, hold your horses. I believe in ethical journalism. I, like other Kenyans, abhor the trend where people post gory and disturbing images of people massacred by terrorists, adding to the miseries of their friends and relatives, some of who see these images first on social media.

In case you did not know, Kenyan journalists have one of the most comprehensive self-regulation mechanisms one can find anywhere on earth, complete with a complaints body that ensures those who go against ethical practice have a date with the laid-down consequences. Therefore, suggesting that the solution to social media licentiousness is making us report to the police before doing our professional work is ridiculous. Let us not even get into a conversation on how ethically the police service has been doing its job over the years!

I honestly think we need to stop playing hypocritical politics with security. I find it not funny when an elected Member of Parliament chooses not to ask themselves what they can do to improve security and instead supports draconian measures, or, if they are in the opposition, start pointing fingers and swearing they will “oppose everything”. Does that make the country more secure?

Come to think of it, this is time for the opposition to shine. They should be unleashing those brilliant ideas they would have latched on to if they were in power. It would make them look better than the Jubilee team.

It saddens me that the police have on many occasions been said to have received intelligence which they did not act on. Is it that they had no fuel, as always? And now that the budget is made from Parliament, could the MPs frothing in the mouth have averted this mess if they had allocated the police more cash for better working conditions than they allocated to the MCAs for overseas ‘benchmarking’ trips?

My point is we need to become a more responsible country. Let everyone play their part. We need to empower the police, give them citizen support, betters salaries and equipment and more importantly, retrain them to change their mindset.

And while the security situation needs to be addressed like yesterday, let us not forget why we enshrined rights and freedoms in our 2010 Constitution which, by the way, makes it clear that any law or suggestion that goes against the spirit of that hallowed document is null and void, to the extent of that nullity.