Rare order for police officers to ‘stitch pockets’

Traffic police prepare charges for motorists arrested along Kakamega- Mumias Road for various traffic offences during the ongoing campaign to restore order on roads. [PHOTO: FILE/STANDARD]

By KIPCHUMBA SOME

In what he believed to be a pragmatic solution that would rid the Kenya Police Force of corruption, a police commissioner once naively issued a directive through the provincial police officers and formation commanders, instructing all police officers to stich their raincoat pockets closed as one way of ending graft on our roads.

Incredible as it may seem, this seemed to him to be the only means to minimise or eradicate corruption on our roads.

Disregard for the law and poor service have become endemic among police officers especially in developing countries where they are usually associated with corruption and violence.

This might be the reason why people in developing countries believe that a colonial attitude is still rampant within the police.

A certain inferiority complex appears to still affect the day-to-day lives of police officers in these countries. With such a deeply embedded negative mentality within the police force, one wonders if the well-trumpeted reforms and restructuring process of the Kenya police will ever succeed.

To achieve useful transformation within the police force, a change of attitude and mindset of all police officers is of the essence. A complete rethink of police work and attitudes is not optional.  In order to establish the reasons for the deep-rooted mistrust and hostility that exists between police officers and the public, research must be undertaken by the responsible authorities.

Negative attitude

Particular emphasis should be given to the kind of training that would change the public’s negative attitude towards police officers. This would bridge the gap between them and police.

Most people in Kenya may blame the police for many ills, but the reality is that the police have to operate within a certain social environment. 

While there has been much pressure to reform the police force, there have been no efforts to change the perception of the country’s population regarding the maintenance of law and order.

The public must be educated about police work and also brought into police programmes that involve everyone. There must be a massive public relations exercise involving one-on-one live radio and television programmes, where police officers can explain their work and answer questions from the public.

 There should also be public holidays during which the police exhibit their work to the public and show both the challenges and successes of their operations.

It is disconcerting that police officers continue to solicit for and receive bribes from poor citizens who work every day in order to make ends meet.

It would appear that the corrupt monies received by our traffic police officers on almost every road in the country on a daily basis are stashed away in a bottomless pit.

One wonders therefore, whether the proposal to stitch raincoat pockets closed as suggested by the commissioner could actually have the desired effect of preventing habitually corrupt police officers on our roads from receiving bribes!

These men and women of the police service continue receiving bribes and they do not need raincoat pockets or other apertures for their nefarious activities.

At one time after my retirement from the force, my lorry driver happened to be a victim of corrupt traffic police officers. 

This was the incident that confirmed to me that corruption was a rampant menace on our roads. It so happened that the driver was arrested for a minor traffic offence while carrying building materials to a construction site in my rural home.

It has always been said that as normal practice, traffic police officers stop certain types of vehicles before demanding bribes. In case of my lorry driver, he was stopped by two police officers. One of them went round the lorry pretending to inspect it.

According to the driver, the officer was very unhappy when he could not find any fault with the vehicle.

But his face brightened when he suddenly noticed the police inspection license had expired two days earlier.

Though the lorry driver pleaded with the enforcer to pardon him, the traffic officer demanded a Sh3,000 bribe.

After he realised that the driver was not going to part with this kind of money, the police officer angrily whisked him away to Molo Police Station.

On arrival at the station, the officer prepared a charge sheet and took him to court that afternoon. When the charge was read by the magistrate in court, the driver pleaded guilty and was fined Sh1,000,  only a third of the amount that had been demanded by the traffic officer.

One wonders how often these traffic police officers willfully abandon their official duty to frog-march supposed offending drivers to court as if a traffic offence is a serious felony or capital offence.

In order to narrow the wide gap in perceptions between the law enforcers and the public in Kenya, the police service should emulate the approach taken by Nigeria’s Police Force of making friends through the electronic media.

One of the strategies they are employing to reach out to the public is a radio programme called “Dan sanda abokin kowa” (Hausa for the police are your friend).  The aim of this programme is to enlighten the public on the operations of the police force, its constitutional mandate and societal duties.  It also provides citizens with a platform to air their grievances.

In this radio programme, people share their views and experiences via email, phone calls and text messages. Typical complaints are about police brutality, extortion and corruption, slow response to reported crimes, unlawful arrests and detention as well as armed robbery and rape. 

Some of the concerns raised are addressed on the spot while others are postponed to the next programme, so that further verification can be done.

The programme host has the authority to invite police officers to respond to issues raised by the public. This programme is said to have greatly improved the image of the Nigerian police with members of the public.  Despite the numerous risks and challenges, many of these dedicated servants of the public continue to discharge their duties selflessly in saving and protecting the lives of other people.

By giving their very best even with little appreciation from society, many police officers have selflessly devoted their lives to the service of mankind.

Like all other citizens, police officers are entitled to the fundamental rights to life, dignity and security as well as social wellbeing.  Police also deserve the benefit of advocacy by human rights defenders when their rights are infringed.

Acts of bravery

Through extreme acts of bravery and the demands of their work, I have witnessed officers killed or seriously injured in the line of duty. I have often shared the deep pain and sorrow with families during the burial services for departed police officers.

One cannot comprehend how a police officer, who does not have even simple insurance cover, is still duty bound to offer security to a Member of Parliament or other senior government officials.

In case of injury, such a dignitary will receive the best treatment in one of the high-end hospitals in the country. The security officer will be treated at low cost hospitals without proper medical facilities.

Tim McCarthy, one of America’s unsung heroes who gallantly saved the life of President Ronald Reagan, is a legendary example of how much danger the protection of important personalities entails.

McCarthy was a member of President Reagan’s Secret Service detail in 1981 on the day John Hinckley Jr fired six bullets in about one and half seconds from a .22 caliber gun with the intuition to kill the President.

One of the shots hit Mr Reagan, but McCarthy prevented further damage by leaping in front of the President and ‘blocking’ one of the bullets.

Both men had surgery and recovered from the ordeal in the same hospital and McCarthy was able to go home before Mr Reagan. While we hope that such a scenario never takes place in our country, one wonders if a security officer within the President of Kenya’s detail would be admitted at the same hospital as the Head of State.

The colourful eulogies and tributes often read during burial services in honor of departed officers are not enough to compensate their families or compliment them for the great service that these fine men and women have given their country.       

The scenario in Nigeria’s Police Service is a big contrast to the one in the Kenya with regard to medical cover for officers. One time, while I was in Abuja, I witnessed the Inspector of General Police presenting cheques to more than 1212 families of slain and injured police officers.