There has always been serious rivalry between officers of the National Police Service and members of public. There is no trust between the two although common sense dictates that there should exist mutual respect and co-ordination between them for there to be smooth flow of service delivery and management of security by the police.
The latest major case of altercation between a police officer and a member of public is the one involving 19-year-old Ian Njoroge who assaulted a police officer attached to Kasarani Police Station at Mirema Junction in Nairobi. Kenyans took to social media to give their opinion. While you would expect everybody to condemn the act, surprisingly a notable number of Kenyans have applauded the young man, saying that they would also have done the same. This includes human rights activist Boniface Mwangi who on his X account @thepeopleswatchman has continually exposed the police as a criminal enterprise for conducting many acts against humanity. This time, Mr Mwangi condemned the police for abusing the young man (physically and verbally) at the time of his arrest and while in custody at Kasarani police station to an extent of breaking his jaw.
One would wonder what might be the genesis of all this disdain for each other between the public and the police. It is said that “Hurt people hurt other people” and this is the case with our officers. So, are our police officers hurt; and if so, who hurt them? A deep scrutiny into how police officers treat citizens in high tension situations shows one thing: Desire to harm rather than protect the public.
During the countrywide Azimio demonstrations orchestrated by the rising cost of living, police officers were seen shooting indiscriminately into crowds and members of public who were not even participating in the protests were killed by stray bullets. One case of police brutally in the full glare of the media is when a police officer posed as a photojournalist to arrest an innocent young man in Mathare area for asking them (police) to stop throwing teargas into their houses because children were being chocked by the fumes. With total disregard to his pleas, the officers hurled the young man into their truck and he would spend the entire weekend in custody for asking them to stop hurting children.
That is not an isolated event. Upon assumption of office, president William Ruto disbanded an elite killer police unit dubbed “The Special Service Unit” allegedly believed to be behind extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances of both citizens and foreign nationals. Days after the disbandment of the squad, Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) issued a report that linked the National Police Service to the “Bodies of River Yala” where for more than two years, mutilated bodies with signs of torture and whose fingerprints had been scrapped off to conceal identity were being found dumped in River Yala in Siaya County.
In 2019, Human Rights Watch – an international human rights advocacy organization - reported that the police killed more than 21 men and boys in Nairobi's low-income areas "apparently without justification, claiming they were criminals". Between 2007 and 2022, civil society coalition “Missing Voices” recorded 1,286 cases of extrajudicial killings and 241 enforced disappearances by the police.
These and hundreds of other cases of police brutality, extra judicial killings and shameless collection of bribes in public have lowered the public trust in the National Police Service and created animosity between the two parties. The next question would be, “Why would the police whose motto is Utumishi kwa wote – Service to all, turn into animals and treat civilians in such ways?
A 2020 study by Amos Gakuo of The University of Nairobi on the reasons behind the high number of suicides among the police, factors such as work place stress, poor working environment, poor pay and traumatic incidences topped the list. With regard to promotion and rewards, respondents complained of promotion and rewards not being based on merit, experience or educational level.
It is this level of mistreatment that has turned the police against the public out of frustration. Our officers, especially those of lower ranks are among the Kenyans who live in the most deplorable conditions. For, instance, Why would an officer live in a metal-walled hut that gets as hot as an incubator during the day and freezing cold at night? Wouldn't that person go to work angry the next day and take out all that anger on the client (the citizen in this case)?
The current administration has demonstrated goodwill in improving the lives of the police force. Nonetheless, this commitment must extend beyond mere promises. Swift and comprehensive changes addressing all the aforementioned factors must be implemented visibly. This is the only way police officers can find peace and satisfaction in their work hence protecting, respecting and coexisting well with the public.