Kenya News -- Kenya is currently witnessing unprecedented levels of lawlessness:
Terrorism, cattle rustling, violent robbery, ethnic clashes, sexual assaults, carjacking,
just to mention a few. The recent unfortunate incident in Mandera in which 28
Kenyans travelling to Nairobi were ambushed and executed in cold blood by
Al-Shabaab militants has led to public saying “enough is enough!” The killings
were followed by #OccupyHarambeeAvenue protests in reference to the president’s
office. Many Kenyans feel that the government is not doing enough to protect
them.
The Inspector General,
David Kamaiyo, and the Interior Cabinet Secretary Ole Lenku have been accused
of incompetence and calls for their resignation are coming from every corner, including
the two houses (senate and parliament) and the civil society. I’m not sure whether
the resignations of the two top officials will help matters. What I know is
that the problem with Kenya’s internal security apparatus is far deeper than
many people can admit.
Serious human resource capacity
Kenya has around 45 million citizens and a police force of
roughly 42,000 officers. This means that
the public policing ratio is currently above 1:1000. A figure that is far below what the UN
recommends (1:450). Before devolution, a quarter of the police force were
involved administrative duties, acting as drivers for top government officials
and guarding the elite. Kenya now has a devolved government and 47 governors
and a slightly higher number of senators and many more MPs have joined the list
of officials who special security and other services from policemen. Don’t
forget that MCAs are also requesting for improved security.
This implies that the
number of policemen left to prevent crime and offer services to the public
could be less than 35,000. How can such a law number of policemen watch over 45
million people?
The serious manpower challenge plays out in every major
incident of lawlessness. For example, After the Mandera
Bus Attack, it was reported that the police could not respond because they
had a shortage, both in regard to manpower and equipment. The attackers were
many and with more sophisticated weapons, including rocket launchers and
automatic weapons. Even with intelligence of an impending attack, there is very
little a policeman with a G3 riffle can do if they are outnumbered and
outgunned.
Host of other Policing Challenges
Even though the public condemns the police of incompetence,
which is true by the way, there are many other factors that hinders there
service delivery and they include the following:
·
Transport issues – the police have very few
vehicles to effectively carryout their duties. The few that are available are
also poorly serviced and fueled, and this makes it extremely hard for police to
respond to crime incidents.
·
Poor Conditions – There is a feeling in the
police force that they are not adequately compensated for their services. This
is seen in both facilities and logistics. The poor pay has led the police to
indulge in corrupt activities, taking bribes to release sometimes very
dangerous offenders. More on corruption here The
Deadly Vice that is Corruption in Kenya.
·
Budgetary deficits and Misappropriation - It is
no secret that the annual budget allocated to the police is never enough for
the force to discharge its duties well.
Things are however changing now and many of the challenges
mentioned above are being addressed but some are painfully slow. For instance,
more than 7,000 police cadet graduated in April and this really boosted the
force. Senior policemen were also subjected to vetting a few months back to
make sure that they are fit to serve. Challenges such as housing are also being
addressed. We appreciate all the improvements but they should be fast enough as
Kenyans seem to have run out of patience.
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