Psychopaths in uniform are a danger to society

For decades, it was the norm that those employed as police officers, forest guards, game wardens and county askaris have impressive physique. The more menacing the better because their trade is that of intimidation. For this cadre of workers, intelligence was considered of secondary importance, perhaps because they are conditioned to take orders with mechanical loyalty. The nature of their jobs does not require them to tax themselves with too much mental activity.

This unfortunate aspect of the security services borrows from the colonial times. The first police station was opened in 1896 at Mombasa to guard the British trade routes and businesses but was later used to expand British influence in East Africa. Decades after the colonisation of Africa, the indigenous peoples began violent agitation for independence. Naturally, the colonialists used the Home guards to brutally suppress the sporadic uprisings. To avoid crackdowns and harassment, freedom fighters took to the forest where they were less likely to be arrested.

Even today, recruits to the services come from those who did not score highly in their examinations. Sometime back, reports had it that the Kenya Wildlife Service had declined to hire youths who had scored above D+. The reason was simple; KWS was not interested in people with ambition.  As such, recruits to these services not only lack ambition; they are unmotivated, taking whatever comes their way.

The police are unfriendly; barely able to suppress a bitterness arising from being treated unfairly by their seniors. The dignity of a junior policeman is eroded. From mistreatment to living in cramped depressing quarters and the stereotypes society has about them, they lack self-esteem. At the slightest provocation, some policemen have gone berserk. Their stress levels are so high they are taking it out on spouses and colleagues.

Last week, county askaris in Kericho gave chase to a matatu whose driver had refused to bribe them and threw spikes under the speeding vehicle. Inevitably, the driver lost control; the vehicle rolled and killed two passengers. Anybody showing such crassness has no business wearing uniform that belongs to any of the services. It is unfortunate that the lack of functional, objective minds should rob families of their loved ones.

The way security personnel treat citizens is a yardstick by which democracy and executive tolerance can be judged. We are neither a police state nor a failed state where the rule of law does not prevail.

Only recently, the conduct of some workers resulted in Nakuru County’s fire engine being burnt at Salgaa. In March, a driver who refused to bribe the police in Meru was handcuffed to the steering wheel and ordered to drive. The lorry overturned, killing a woman. In November last year, a woman reporting an assault on her baby was raped and detained by an officer at Kikuyu Police Station.

The unthinking behaviour of Tunisian council askaris resulted in the toppling of a government after a trader whose wares had been confiscated set himself on fire. We may argue Tunisia is far off and such a thing cannot happen here, but that would be naïve. The political climate is charged and one spark at the wrong place could set off a conflagration.

County askaris must undergo training in handling the public. Raising the bar during recruitment can preclude having psychopaths in the service. A certificate of good conduct must be a prerequisite. It would further help if these askaris were given transfers, unlike now where they only serve their home areas. Exposure can broaden their thinking, sharpen their perception and help them rationalise.