The kicks and knocks police force needs to fully shape up

When Kenyans passed the new Constitution in 2010, they hoped it would mark a new beginning on how the police and the public relate on a day-to-day basis.

The document contained progressive clauses on how to transform the police into a modern force — one that is more responsive and humane.

For one, drafters of the Constitution attempted to completely delink it from the Executive, which had for long been accused of misusing the police for selfish ends, such as harassing political opponents.

For the first time, the police force would have its own commission (National Police Service Commission), which would recruit the top police chiefs, a privilege exclusively enjoyed by the president before.

In addition, the commission was given powers to promote and discipline staff, while another body, the Independent Police Oversight Authority, was created to handle complaints by the public against the police.

POLICE VETTING

Upon coming to office, the NPSC commenced a vetting exercise which was aimed at rooting out undesired elements within the service, such as officers accused of extra-judicial killings or corruption.

In addition, the government moved to improve the welfare of officers by increasing their pay, buying them new and modern equipment and, recently, giving them health cover.

But despite all these, Kenyans still feel that the reforms are yet to produce the ideal officer within the rank and file of the police, as evidenced by recent surveys.

A report released in March by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) said Kenyans still consider the police as the most corrupt government institution.

In the EACC’s 2016 Corruption Index, the police service and its Traffic Department, which were surveyed separately, were listed as the most corrupt public institutions.

Cases of police excesses, such as extra-judicial executions, as witnessed in the aftermath of last year’s presidential elections, as well as rampant violation of human rights, are still the norm.

So why do Kenyans still believe the police service has not adequately reformed? Mr Macharia Njeru, the immediate former Ipoa chairman, says the changes carried out so far are “cosmetic”.

“It is good to talk about salaries and equipment, but those are mundane issues,” he says.

“Unless we go for the key issues that make the police behave the way they do, then the so-called reforms will not work.”

RECENT REFORMS

Mr Njeru speaks from an authoritative point, having been at Ipoa for five years, and a member of the Justice Philip Ransley-led task force that made far-reaching recommendations on police service in 2009.

A sign that the government was not happy with some of the reforms within the force appeared in 2015 when then Cabinet Secretary for Interior Joseph Nkaiserry said he was unhappy with the way NPSC was vetting police officers.

“To ask a police officer who has served in the force for close to three decades why he has Sh3 million, on camera, is humiliating and demeaning,” Mr Nkaiserry, who died in 2017, said.

He went on: “The wrong man is vetting the right man. How does a civilian who does not know the command structure of the force examine a police officer?” he posed.

But Mr Njeru’s scepticism about police reforms comes after President Uhuru Kenyatta announced more changes to the force, including a much-criticised change in uniform.

In the changes, the President said the government would no longer offer free housing to junior officers, but would give them a house allowance to allow them live in places of their choosing.

INTEGRATION

President Kenyatta also announced a new command structure which, hopefully, will enhance discipline, operational efficiency and accountability.

Mr Njeru praises the changes, saying they are part of the key reforms Ipoa came up with during his tenure, but which were resisted by senior officers who are benefiting from the current set-up.

One of Ipoa’s key recommendations, and which was announced by the President, is house allowance for officers, as opposed to building or leasing for them living quarters.

Mr Njeru says this move will allow the police and the public to integrate.

“We discovered that as a result of the police living in seclusion, an us-versus-them attitude had developed between them and the public. But when the police live with us in the estates, it will be difficult for them to harass their neighbours.

"Furthermore, security will increase since potential criminals will be aware that there are police officers among them.”

The series of terror attacks that the country has suffered at the hands of suspected Al-Shabaab militants, especially the 2013 terror attack at Westgate Mall in Nairobi, exposed weaknesses in the command structure of the force.

COMMAND STRUCTURE

Lack of proper communication and reporting lines between the various commands, such as the Kenya Police, Administration Police and Directorate of Criminal Investigations, was blamed for the attack.

In the changes announced by the President, several senior police positions were scrapped, including AP regional commander, Kenya Police regional commander, DCI regional commander and Kenya Police County commander, AP county commander and DCI county commander.

Also scrapped are all sub-county commanders from all the three arms of the National Police Service, OCPD, district AP commander and the AP ward commander.

These positions will be replaced by integrated Police Geo Boundaries and placed under unified commands, namely regional police command, one county police command, and one sub-county police command.

The 24,572 APs and the 39,680 Kenya Police officers will be put under the General Police Service and will work under the command of the Deputy Inspector General of Police.

In the new changes, the DIG in charge of AP will now command 8,280 officers from the Security of Government Buildings Unit and 5,000 from the Anti-Stock Theft Unit.

POLICE COMMISSION

Mr Njeru describes these changes as “very positive. They will reduce cases of indiscipline where some officers refuse to take instructions from their seniors in different commands,” he said.

But however well-meaning these proposals may seem, critics accuse the Jubilee administration of rolling back police reforms by weakening the National Police Service Commission.

In 2014, Jubilee acrimoniously pushed through Parliament the Security Laws (Amendment) Act 2014, clawing back from the NPSC the powers to appoint the Inspector General.

An amendment to the NPSC Act allowed the President to sack Deputy Inspector General of Police Joel Kitili, his Administration Police counterpart Samuel Arachi and DCI boss Ndegwa Muhoro in January this year.

Mr Ndungu Wainaina, the executive director of the International Centre for Policy and Conflict, says all this points to double standards within Jubilee in regard to police reforms.

OPTIMISM

However, Mr Njeru remains optimistic, saying: “They (police reforms) are achievable. Maybe not immediately but definitely within a short period. For the past five years, Jubilee Government has been destroying these noble constitutional objectives,” he said.

“One-size-fits all policing and law enforcement model approach controlled from Nairobi is colonial, archaic and does not allow room to respond to different security challenges and meet local needs.

Just as in colonial times, the police remain a symbol of political power and an instrument of oppression rather than an independent institution with a distinct professional capacity to governance," he said.