Police image leaves a lot to be desired

Police officers arrest a suspect. The pain of being battered by a police officer who is supposed to protect you is enormous

The police have progressively mastered the art of brutality and are now in the final stages of perfecting it. Condemnations have been made but are only met with lukewarm responses without concrete action from police apologists and public relations officers.
The pain of being battered by a police officer who is supposed to protect you is enormous; however, the anguish of being battered when you are innocent and knowing that your daily struggles to earn a living contribute to the mobility, welfare and remuneration of your tormentors through the taxes you pay is indescribable.

The act of applauding the brutality of the police by the Inspector General of Police sets a very bad and regrettable precedent. The IGP exposed his maladministration by putting the cart before the horse; his assertion that he applauded his officers before seeing the video of the violence meted-out on unarmed civilians but later decided to have them charged after seeing the video exposes a modus operandi of whims. The IGP goes ahead to drag the media into the saga by asserting that the media is biased since it selectively shows only videos where the police are brutalising people not where civilians attack the police. Interesting to note is the fact that the IGP has not yet disclosed to the public the right video where civilians ‘purportedly’ attacked the police. Using unlawful means purporting to do something lawful is a bad equation since two wrongs don’t make a right.

The decision of having the ring leaders charged in police courts should be dismissed as a sham that defeats justice. The appropriate thing would be to investigate them with a view of forwarding them to the courts manned by our Judiciary. The punishments for the offenders will range from demotion, imprisonment and dismissal; how do these punishments act as vehicles of redress or atonement for the victims who lost property like boda bodas and those that are nursing wounds?

If this state of affairs is not practically dealt with, police efforts at liaising with the common man will remain an attempt in futility. The force’s rhetoric of “help the police to help you” will be a thing of the past and the wanaichi will avoid the men in uniform.
The police leadership should strive to improve the welfare of its officers, there should be much more than the polished boots and gun butts as well as customised vans for ferrying key Opposition figures.
Luke Ochieng
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