Police have failed to redeem soiled image

The response and conduct of General Service Unit (GSU) policemen after terrorists attacked Garissa university in April killing 67 people was commendable, giving hope our security services had come of age.They displayed a rare type of professionalism not normally associated with the Kenyan security agencies. Scenes where policemen harass civilians in security operations were missing. But it seems that was an illusion, and it is over.

The history of the police in Kenya is one of violence and human rights abuses in the discharge of their duties. It is a legacy they carried over from colonial times but have been at pains to discard. In an attempt to sanitise the police force, a 2009 National Task Force on Police Reforms culminated in the enactment of the National Police Service Act, National Police Service Commission Act and the National Police Oversight Authority Acts. The rationale behind this was the establishment of a professional Police Service critical to better national security.

Taking stock now, can we say these objectives have been achieved a few years down the line? To begin with, the National Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) and the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) have been working at cross purposes, especially on matters of recruitment, appointments and promotions. This infighting has done little to improve the working conditions and discipline within the Police Service.

Last year the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) decried the presence of rogue policemen who have been giving the service a bad name. The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) and Human Rights Watch (HRW) group released reports in 2014 that indicted the police of serious human rights abuses. While supposedly trying to look for Al Shabaab terrorists who had subjected the country to attacks, it was claimed that regular policemen and their General Service Unit (GSU) counterparts detained civilians without charges, beat up innocent villagers, looted, raped , torched houses and even engaged in extra judicial killings, especially at the coast.

The ongoing war on illicit brews continues to portray the Police and especially the General Service Unit (GSU) in negative light. Not only have they gone overboard in enforcing the Executive order on eliminating illicit brews, there have been cases where the policemen are accused of beating and shooting unarmed civilians. Cases of post-operation deaths in some areas have been reported.

While in search of the illicit brews in Mathare, Nairobi last week, General Service Unit policemen were captured on camera torturing civilians as opposed to searching for those responsible for the killer brews. An innocent man riding by was forced to carry his bicycle high with one hand while another was compelled to do press-ups. There must have been other atrocities not captured on camera. How such punishment aids in the fight against illicit brews is debatable.

The change in name from Police Force to Police Service has not brought the much needed change as the police have failed to redeem themselves. The public continues to view them with mistrust, straining their relationship. While citizen participation is an integral part of effective policing, lack of a working relationship between the public and the police has seen the former withhold vital information thus, it behoves the Inspector General of police to work the extra mile in restoring public trust in the police. The reforms in the police service that the government undertook at great cost to the taxpayer must bear fruit.