We are all too familiar with the conventional wisdom that effective police officers are the key to a secure nation. Indeed over the past several decades, we have discovered much about effective policing practices and what a difference they can make when security officers employ them in ensuring the safety of the citizenry. With this discovery, we fervently hoped that police reforms will engender the effectiveness we all desire. Unfortunately, almost two years down the line, the reality is still shocking. Impunity is still one of the gravest problems affecting the police force, and one that needs to be urgently addressed.
Tragically, police officers are increasingly committing crimes (from cold murders, to common robberies, rape and torture) without having to face, much less suffer, any punishment. It would seem that the implicit approval of the morality of these crimes by the powers that be has made police officers to repeat ad nauseum these horrendous acts without fear.
It appears as though to many police officers, an effective officer is synonymous to a tough, mean, no nonsense man or woman, with more brawn than brain who has to murder many (albeit; innocent and defenseless) citizens and then hope to be feted for their valor. Adherence to the existing Professional Code of Conduct and Ethics for the police force as well as the Public Officer Ethics Act (2003) is immaterial given that they enjoy immunity from the powers that be.
It therefore does not come as a surprise to the public for the Minister for internal security and provincial administration alongside the police spokesman to spew cheap lies ad nauseum, to the public regarding the conduct of some criminal elements in the police force even when there is glaring evidence to suggest that they brazenly engage in extra judicial killings among many other forms of crime. Not once has the minister for internal security and the top police brass not hastened to dismiss as baseless lingering questions impinging negatively on the police force. They will do anything within their means including alluding to phantom Mungiki as a justification for their horrendous deeds.
Sadly, that is exactly the stance adopted by the Minister for Internal Security and the police spokes person, Erick Kiraithe, over last week’s shocking murder of the seven taxi operators in Kawangware. In their deliberate but satirical attempt at swaying public opinion from this substantive issue, they have for the umpteenth alleged that the murdered taxi drivers were suspected mungiki adherents armed with all sorts of weaponry (I guess what was missing from the scene of crime was the usual mungiki paraphernalia to tie the loose ends) thereby justifying the fact that the Administration police killed them in self defense.
On realizing that this line of thinking had become stale, they quickly switched to yet another familiar lie; that the officers suspected to have committed this heinous act had been interdicted pending investigations. Belatedly, they thought it prudent to add that the said officers had been arrested. These are tale tell signs of these cops being discreetly transferred to remote parts of this country to wait for the public acrimony to fizzle out before being promoted for a job well done!
If such unfortunate incidences go unpunished, then the public trust in the police force is likely to remain at an all time low. Currently, in the estimation of the public, many of the police officers are no different from a monkey with a loaded gun.
This is one reason why the much touted community policing program became a cropper. It is also the reason why the public still has serious doubts as to whether the Government is fully committed in implementing to the letter the much touted police reforms.
TOME FRANCIS,
BUMULA.
http://twitter.com/tomefrancis
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