We have died for far too long for nothing, so let’s fix the police

By PETER WANYONYI

There are times when this country unites fervently in the face of adversity, and this was on display ten days ago when terrorists attacked the Westgate Mall.

Support for the security personnel involved in the operation was unanimous, and it was fantastic to see the volunteer spirit at work as citizens helped to rescue and transport the injured, while others brought food and refreshments to the soldiers and emergency-response personnel on site.

This column salutes the gallant spirit of the security personnel, as well as the volunteers who gave up time and resources — and ran the risk of possible injury from the militants barricaded inside the shopping mall. Our condolences go to the family and friends of those who tragically lost their lives in the atrocity, including President Uhuru, who lost family in the attack.

Systemic failures

The hard questions will already be coming out behind the closed doors and curtained windows of the intelligence and security superstructure of the country. This column has, in the past, lamented the here-today-gone-tomorrow focus of our police where security is concerned. We just don’t seem to have the required patience to painstakingly follow leads and use the intelligence garnered from them to secure the country.

The terrorist atrocity was spectacular and sudden, but if we look closer, we will no doubt find that it was a result of systemic failures in security. Our policing is rather haphazard, and seems more geared towards allowing the police to make a quick shilling via extortion, rather than actually providing citizens with the security they deserve and expect.

As we ponder this, nothing has been done about the Baragoi massacre in which dozens of police officers were slaughtered after being led into an ambush thanks to faulty intelligence, poor kitting and questionable command. The supervisors of the police force are still in office; no one ever took responsibility for the atrocity. And that was that. No one was fired for it, and it appears to have quietly receded into the hidden recesses of our collective national memory.

No stone unturned

Every so often, we have fitful initiatives, like the long-planned sweeping up of illegal arms. But political expediency intervenes and the initiatives are quietly shelved. The government has long promised to “beef up” security in northern Kenya, especially on the borders with Somalia and Ethiopia. One of the reasons that locals in those regions have firearms is to defend themselves against livestock rustling from neighbouring countries. Of course, securing the borders against such incursions, in the first place, would make it unnecessary for the locals to have firearms, and would also ensure that foreigners do not infiltrate the country to sell weapons or engage in terror activities.

But that sounds like asking too much. Every week, Kenyans are killed in various parts of the country as a direct result of lack of adequate police work. The much promised “we will leave no stone unturned” action never quite materialises, and we quickly go back to waiting for the next atrocity.

When will this vicious and tragic comedy stop?