NEWS > 04 June 2007

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East African - Nairobi,Kenya
04 June 2007

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Kenya’s insecurity linked to p

Police officers in Kenya are disappointed that a report by a task force that was appointed by former police commissioner Edwin Nyaseda in 2003 seems to have been pushed to the back burner as they continue suffering.

The report, which talked about how to improve the terms and conditions of the police force and how to cope with the modern challenges of law enforcement, was presented to President Mwai Kibaki by police commissioner, Maj-Gen Hussein Ali, on April 27, 2005, during the launch of the community policing initiative at Ruai police station in Nairobi.

Police officers who spoke to The EastAfrican on condition of anonymity said that the escalating insecurity across the country is a manifestation of growing disillusionment within the force. Since January, over 10 police officers have died at the hands of criminals.

Those interviewed maintained that transfers and increased recruitment of police personnel is not going to have any impact on the rate of crime unless the report is implemented in full and the terms and conditions of law enforcers are dramatically improved.

That the police force is a demoralised lot is seen in the form of half-hearted or shoddy investigations and prosecution of cases that has seen hardened criminals acquitted or escape with a slap on the wrist. While Internal Security Minister John Michuki recently blamed the judiciary for the acquittals, Chief Justice Evan Gicheru conceded that the police is to blame for shoddy investigations and prosecutions.

Key among the recommendations included a 300 per cent salary increase, the de-linking of the force from the civil service to eliminate political manipulation and training of police officers on technology after every three years to ensure they stay in line with global changes.

It also provided for various allowances such as leave allowance calculated at 100 per cent of basic salary, risk and extra duties allowances, hardship allowance at 50 per cent of basic salary and full basic salary as transfer allowance.

The task force found out that the police force is full of nepotism, corruption and political patronage. It also suffers from poor training due to inadequate equipment, poor accommodation, lack of safety equipment, inadequate transport and fuel, negative attitude towards the public by the police and vice-versa, and lack a union to articulate issues affecting the police officers.

Indeed, the police have never had a union even at the time when the Civil Servants Union was strong.

Investigations reveal that senior police officers know the pathetic conditions their juniors are operating in but are scared of speaking out because they are not willing to put their livelihoods on the line.

Of late, it has become clear that ordinary policemen have little chance of subduing criminals armed with more sophisticated weapons, including bullet proof vests, a “luxury” for most police officers. In that case, most law enforcers are reluctant to expose themselves to such situations given that it is their families that are left to suffer once they die.

The task force recommended that the government should pay a lumpsum of Ksh5 million ($73,530) for an officer killed on duty, besides the death gratuity as calculated in the pension scheme.

But the main bone of contention is the poor remuneration and pathetic living conditions. The lowest paid police officer, a constable, earns about Ksh10,000 ($147) gross, from which they still have to pay statutory deductions.

As a result, those interviewed revealed that some officers go to the extent of renting out their guns to criminals, or co-operate with criminals for the sake of survival. Similarly, police officers do odd jobs at the behest of politicians.

For instance, The Artur brothers’ saga confused the police who were confused about who to obey– between the commissioner and the former CID director, Joseph Kamau.

Equally weighty is the issue of the dingy and squeezed accommodation they have to put up with in their living quarters.

As a result, most of them cannot afford to live with their families because of the pathetic living conditions in most police lines.

For instance, a police inspector gets Ksh6,000 ($88) house allowance, which is hardly sufficient to rent a servant’s quarter in a decent and secure residential area. Those without official accommodation are forced to live in areas with no security despite the nature of their job.

To make matters worse, there is no transport allowance, yet they have to use public transport.

With these kind of conditions, many police officers look with envy upon officers seconded to the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC), where their compatriots earn as much as Ksh100,000 ($147).

The police are now questioning the disparity and are at a loss why so much should be spent on KACC, which cannot be everywhere, while it would make more sense to improve the terms of all police officers to have a bigger group to fight corruption.

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East African - Nairobi,Kenya04 June 2007

Kenya’s insecurity linked to p

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East African - Nairobi,Kenya
04 June 2007