IN THE HANDS OF ROGUE POLICE OFFICERS, NO ONE IS SAFE, NOT EVEN FELLOW OFFICERS

When I have no one to speak to speak to, I write. Today, I pen down a few lines though with a heavy heart. As I celebrate 14 years in the police service, I have come to realize that in the line of duty, I have two lives -a physical life and an online life. Though equally dangerous, the physical life is easier to deal with compared to the online one which is not a walk in the park. The #JusticeForMaina hashtag on Twitter and Facebook reveals what Kenyans think of modern day policing in this country and honestly speaking, the pain, the loss, the frustrations, the helplessness from some quarters and all manner of expressions are worrying and heartbreaking. However, like the Willie Kimani case, Katitu’s case, Kidero’s case and that of a former Ruaraka OCS, we must let IPOA and other Investigative agencies do their work. 

Day in day out, we the Police wake up just like other Kenyans. In our hands is a very sacred duty/responsibility of protecting life and property.

We have thousands of well educated/schooled officers

This provides us with an opportunity to touch humanity at it’s core. In our circles, we have law abiding cops, morally upright ones, well schooled and educated, compassionate, professional, folks who respect the right to live and work in any part of this country, officers who are not corrupt and those that go out of their way to make Kenya a better place to live in. Others have lost their lives and precious families in the line of duty without anyone speaking for them. These officers must be protected from any form of physical and online mob injustice. This protection can only exist in a country where violation of human rights and corruption is punished decisively irrespective of who has done these unlawful acts.

A Kenyan on twitter speaking of road blocks

Whereas we have amazing officers who diligently do this, we also have a whole lot that wake up just to cause misery and horror in the lives of Kenyans who pay taxes that end up as officers’ pay cheques at the end of the month. On a normal day, a good number of Kenyans give their firsthand accounts of horror in the hands of officers and honestly speaking, this should be a concern for everyone one with responsibility of ensuring that this trend is reversed as soon as possible. Such stories are posted online quite often with the number fast rising. Those who know some of us do call us quite often. From 24^th December - 26^th December 2018, I personally received distress calls from a good number of friends who were either arrested for ‘saa mbaya’ or for their private vehicles not having fire extinguishers and other offences that are nonexistent.

A quick online scan reveals a trend where Kenyans are fast giving up on us. We have been called class eight drop outs, Inhuman, folks who were recruited on the basis on being in procession of a certain set of teeth, Immoral, Uncouth, Killers, Corrupt, folks who fear the learned/educated, violators of human rights etc. Honestly speaking, this can cause well meaning officers untold misery since this is more or less mob injustice or what Kenyans have baptized team building.

Victims of mob injustice/team building

Police officers come from the same country that we police. This means that we also have our next of kin living in the same society hence our brothers, sisters, cousins, parents and relatives in general are not insulated from officers who are involved in actions that are outside what we were employed to do. They suffer immensely too and no amount of denial can take away that from them, only an admission and concerted efforts to punish such officers.

A good number of relatives and friends call me with hope that I can bail them out when they are at crossroads but honestly speaking, I have not been of much help to them. I have always advocated for the rule of law to take it’s course but am often heartbroken to hear that they bribed their way out and when I ask why, I am told that our justice system always takes police officers word as the gospel truth especially where one is accused of petty offences hence they choose the lesser evil. The few who have listen to me have come back to me with more pain as they are charged for trumped up charges that make them regret why they did not bribe.

As a person, I have also fallen prey to such officers. Mid November, I encountered one at a roadblock along Kahawa West-Kamiti road who after finding no fault in a vehicle that I had borrowed from a friend settled on an offence called-poor body work. I am yet to find the same in the Traffic act and other legislation. Mid December, on my way to Meru, I also encountered another officer at a road block who accused me of ferrying passengers using a private vehicle even after I informed him that we were heading to a burial to send off my nephew. 

Image of a wreckage of a PSV after an accident

This should tell us that a professional and accountable police service is good for all in this day and time. Innocent lives have been cut short in the hands of rogue officers, dreams shattered, jobs lost, livelihoods disrupted and lost. This is happening daily in our neighborhoods where chang’aa dens and wines and spirit shops operate outside the law with full knowledge and protection of officers of all ranks. This is evident as service colors branded vehicles do rounds in our estates with stopovers outside wines and spirit shops and bars, a routine that is repeated with zero worries which is an indicator that we could have given up on enforcement of the rule of law in one way or the other. Lives are lost on our roads after bribery and extortion became the order of the day at almost every roadblock, shisha parlors continue to operate with impunity, slot/betting machines are back in full force where our youth are fast finding a place to call a second home with increased cases of depression and suicide that are related to addiction from betting being reported. 

Despite heavy presence of police officers on our roads, Un roadworthy vehicles are all over, no speed governors, safety belts, Kenyans are being extorted and physically abused by touts with no one to come to their rescue despite heavy worded statements that have characterized the lives of who is who in various ministries that are charged with the responsibility of bringing sanity on our roads. Where do un roadworthy vehicles get valid inspection stickers from? Why do we act blind and assume that road safety will come to being by itself without us addressing the real issues?
As I sum up, I always feel sad anytime I see a photo of an officer trending just because he/she helped an elderly person or children cross a busy road. I think this should be a bare minimum and not a heroic act. However, in a society where police officers are rarely know to exhibit human traits, these simple acts remain heroic till we wake up from slumber land and accept the reality that is dwindling confidence in policing.