Let’s motivate and protect hardworking police officers even as we punish rogue ones

The last few weeks have been full of insecurity reports. Young and old alike have lost their lives in this recent senseless rise of insecurity in our country. Crime is often attributed to social conditions including and not limited to poverty, unemployment, homelessness, substance abuse, child abuse and neglect.

In Kenya, crime has also been perpetuated by the get-rich-quick culture. We have grown up in a society with little or no perceived consequences of getting money in whatever way possible.

Disillusioned young men and women promote this narrative both online and offline. Politicians are one of the major culprits escalating this narrative.

Crime-related deaths in lower-class communities have barely moved the needle in the past. A mother is about to bury her 24-year-old son. He was stabbed in an affluent neighbourhood.

Do we have to wait until it is the son or daughter of the political class for there to be effective solutions? Is this what it will take to see how near we all are to succumbing to pointless crime?

Ideally, life is sacred regardless of social status. Our security as a country directly affects trade and tourism and spills over into international relations. Our security personnel have in the past proved their competence amid harsh working conditions and a lack of political goodwill. More than being our security, they are family and friends. Above all, they are
also human beings.

Fundamental freedoms

As such, their rights begin where criminals’ rights end. The Kenyan constitution provides that national security shall be pursued in compliance with the law and with the utmost respect for the rule of law, democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) and human rights activists have the mandate to prove wrongful deaths. Speculation by the citizens only adds to fuel the brazen criminal acts while stripping the security forces of their equitable and legal right to respond to threats.

The media should stop sensationalizing the work done by the security forces. Give the nation actual facts not headlines to line your pockets. The arrest and public display of security officers of a special unit have had an underrated impact.

There is a reported go slow with some officers using social media accounts to air their grievances. There are reports of police officers refusing to be involved with ongoing crime for fear of prosecution. How is the common mwananchi supposed to protect themselves from weapon-using criminals?

The new Interior CS Kithure Kindiki needs to address this with the urgency it necessitates. Danger looms in broad daylight from the Kenya National Archives along Moi Avenue to the Samburu lands where bandits seemingly dared President William Ruto.

A transitional government has a lot to do in terms of stabilizing the country. This will more often than not always cause some form of friction with the institutions that survived the previous government. For it all to fall into some semblance of order, there has to be a compromise in the execution of new orders and mandates.

Failure to which, crucial things will fall through the cracks and come back to haunt the country down the line. While we cannot expect Kenya to become a developed country with all the perks overnight, I reckon we can and should continue to enjoy the right to safety.

The principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) adopted by the United Nation in 1948 state that rights are universal and inalienable; indivisible; interdependent and interrelated. In the same beat, your right stops where another person’s begin.

If we cannot abide by our own constitution or the universal one, then by all that is holy, let us abide by the doctrines that govern our religious institutions. It should go without saying that this is not a political issue. This is above and beyond. The safety of the Kenyan citizens, our dwindling resources and the overall stability of Kenya depend on how this is
handled.

Hustle should never be at the price of a life. This is not a one-man show. It should be a deliberate intersystem drive for change. Rogue police officers should be dealt with in accordance to the law.

The executive should provide the necessary support to the security forces. Human rights activists should be able to get just rulings within the judicial system. The legislature should pass laws that protect all.

Ms Ngure is a strategic communications consultant. [email protected]