The Kenya Human Rights Commission got it wrong when it stated that the Kenya Police Service is not prepared to deal with anticipated violence during the coming General Election.
I have read their report and beg to differ. I can assure Kenyans that the police are prepared for the election. They are equal to the task.
It is not my personal intention, nor that of the National Police Service, to deflect or dismiss out of hand sincere and constructive inquiry into the conduct of the police. The public is very welcome to engage with us.
We are a service and we are committed to constantly improve our product.
We only ask for sobriety and even-handedness. We are not sweeping our weaknesses under the carpet, as was the case in the past. But we also cannot accept accusations that cannot be sustained by facts.
For reasons all reasonable people can understand, I cannot publicly give a blow by blow operational report of our security status in the lead-up to the General Election.
I cannot give details of how many nefarious activities we have nipped in the bud nor say what measures we have put in place to forestall the schemes of criminal elements based on the intelligence we have. But I can assure the public that all this is being done and we are succeeding.
Police work takes place away from the glare of the limelight. No pre-emption gets reported. But the failures, when they occur, are always blown up. They have the effect of painting a picture of anarchy and can induce a sense of hopelessness among the public.
Only police professionals know how much is achieved in preventing crime. Vigilance is not a public show and quite often, the actions that come out of it are also not a matter of public drama. That the public does not see all this does not mean it is not happening.
But here I can only ask the commission and the public to believe me. I can also ask the public to continue providing us with information and assure everybody that we shall act on it with alacrity and professionalism.
By its own admission, the KHRC observes that police reforms are an on-going process.
Reforms, by their very nature, take long and elicit impatience from many quarters. This is especially true of far-reaching reforms of a national scale such as we are undertaking. The gains, even when clearly apparent, tend to be downplayed.
It is not for me to rehash here the multifaceted aspects of police reforms taking place in our country. I believe Kenyans are familiar with them. My concern is delivering security to all our citizens wherever they may be in the country, not just during this election season, but all the time.
I am particularly concerned about the public’s civic duties and responsibilities. These cannot be ignored if police work is to succeed.
There is only so much the police can do when the vast majority of law-abiding citizens exhibit a high tolerance for criminal behaviour of the few among them.
If an innocent citizen sees somebody else making a large purchase of pangas in a supermarket, for instance, why would such a person not raise the alarm?
And why would the supermarket teller not query what he or she is selling, especially if it is being done at this election time?
There is a devastating price to be paid by innocent people who condone criminal activity, no less than that paid by innocent passengers who condone the recklessness of the drivers who carry them.
In these cases, the cardinal police duty of crime prevention is severely handicapped and it is unfair when the aggrieved public turns around and blames the police when it is too late to save lives.
I welcome the KHRC, and the public at large, to engage with us constructively for the sake of the security of all of us.
I maintain that we are prepared and we shall deliver a peaceful election. But we shall only do that as all Kenyans, mindful of not just our individual rights, but also our obligations to one another.
Mr Kimaiyo is the Inspector-General of Police.
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