Killer police officers must be exposed quickly

Police Constable Elijah Kimoi, who allegedly pulled the trigger that killed Dr Victoria Mutiso. [Courtesy]

A government’s first duty is to protect life. That is why government security officers are allowed to carry guns. However, when those entrusted with that duty allegedly turn the guns on citizens, the nation has crossed a dangerous line.

The shocking revelations surrounding the assassination of Dr Victoria Mutiso point to something far more sinister than an ordinary murder. Investigators have linked serving police officers to the execution, with evidence suggesting that the killing was a carefully organised operation. That should horrify every Kenyan.

The reported use of a police firearm, the alleged involvement of officers and trail of surveillance, vehicles and movements paint a chilling picture: The law enforcers have turned that knowledge into a weapon against innocent citizens.

This is not merely about one murder. It is about the integrity of the State. If police officers can allegedly plan, finance, execute or facilitate killings, then the badge becomes a disguise for criminality. The uniform that should reassure the public becomes a source of terror.

And once citizens begin to fear the police more than criminals, the social contract collapses. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations deserves credit for pursuing the case. But arrests and dramatic revelations are not enough.

Kenyans have heard too many stories of investigations that begin with thunder and end in silence. The public deserves the truth, however uncomfortable that truth may be. Most importantly, accountability must not stop with the trigger-puller.

If the investigation establishes that senior officers, financiers, organisers or other state agents were involved, they too must face the full force of the law. There must be no protection for the powerful, no disappearance of evidence, no convenient transfers and no institutional cover-ups.

The police cannot be allowed to investigate themselves indefinitely while victims' families wait for justice.

Parliament, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority and the courts must also take a keen interest in what this case exposes about policing in Kenya.

The country needs to know whether this was an isolated criminal enterprise or evidence of a deeper culture in which rogue officers believe they can eliminate people and escape accountability. Every Kenyan has the right to life, security and justice. Those rights do not disappear because someone wears a uniform.

Dr Mutiso's death must therefore become more than another shocking headline. It must become a test of whether Kenya's institutions are strong enough to confront their own rot.

A killer outside the State is a criminal. A killer operating from within the State is a threat to democracy itself.

Kenya cannot afford killer squads masquerading as law enforcers. The badge must protect life—not become a licence to take it.

The government must leave no stone unturned and weed out all rogue officers withing the National Police Service. It cannot be business as usual.