Eternal neighbourhood vigilance is the price of security

By Ngari Gituku

The first time many Kenyans of 45 years and above first heard of the Nyumba Kumi (Ten Households Cluster) concept, it came as negative news. They promptly associated it with neighbouring Tanzania’s  ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi days of exerting the Ujamaa (Socialism) ideology. At that time there was a sniping cross-border propaganda campaign between the Kenyan and Tanzanian governments, conducted mostly over radio and newspapers. Tanzania called Kenya a “man-eat-man” society and Kenya called her neighbour a “man-eat-nothing” place. Clearly, edification was not on the agenda.

Both concepts were borrowed from Maoist China. News of the Kumi concept was received with a measure of horror in the Kenya of the mid-1970s and as proof of Big Brother-is-Watching-You authoritarianism verging on totalitarianism.

This is because it referred more to the ruling party cell structure than security dynamics. The concept has resurfaced in Kenya with a security, not political, emphasis in the aftermath of the surpassing horror of the Westgate terror attack in late September.

Before they recoil without researching the issue intelligently, Kenyans must give the Task Force room to appreciate that both colonial and independent history has a bearing on how most of the population views officialdom. The overriding concern – passed on across the generations – has been that governance, particularly policing, is merely about imposing sanctions on individuals, even communities.

This has led to the “We” versus “Them” mentality in which neighbours or other community members are more at home with each other than with anybody bearing any form of authority.

Traditionally, those who go to the authorities to tell on their neighbours (regardless of whether such neighbours are crooks) are either shunned or compelled to look over their shoulder every time they venture outdoors. Indeed, many communities have not-so-flattering names for those who pass on information to the authorities, however crucial.

Kenyans need to hone an appreciation of systems and institutions (traditional and modern) for resolving conflict, settling disputes, peacemaking or even maintaining law and order. For instance, elders in most communities are charged with some of these responsibilities.

Getting buy-ins into community conflict prevention, watchfulness and timely reporting to the authorities will require non-traditional research that will unearth the sayings of the wise and narratives held with respect among different ethnic groupings.

This will then constitute part of the “trick” the Task Force will forge to engage diverse communities in the now essential task of more security consciousness and situational self-awareness in neighbourhoods across Kenya. We need to identify who the enemy is in regard to community policing and how to tackle the fact that there might be disagreement within neighbourhoods and, or communities on the identified “enemy”, particularly within closely-knit communities where blood relatives (or clans) live within the same area.

We need to know how to get local people to talk about, and invest goodwill in, and adopt or embrace, a workable community policing system. The Task Force must speak the language of the local people – nationwide. Professional communicators must join hands with elders and other authority figures and role models to craft the message of eternal vigilance as the price of security.

To begin with, there are undoubtedly benefits to be achieved if a national campaign on good neighbourliness and situational self-awareness precedes the round-the-country tours by the Task Force. For instance, the Task Force would do well to first engage in a national “listening” campaign.

Besides, identification of who is accorded respect within each community and how to work with them is essential. For instance, how could the Njuri Ncheke Council of Elders aid in making all the people of Meru embrace the new watchfulness?

Reforms in Kenya Police Service and refinements in community policing ought to go hand-in-hand with the prevention-is-better-than-cure national campaign. Crude and intrinsically corrupt policing methods will have to give way to partnership and shared responsibilities between police officers and the public. Neighbourhood situational self-awareness is a co-operative effort enjoining everyone — nationwide.  Let it be the greatest honour we accord victims of the Westgate horror.