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Kenya |
SOCIAL CONDITIONS
In 1998, Kenya’s police force celebrated its centenary, and this gave the
opportunity
for the ordinary citizen to take a closer look at those responsible
for maintaining law and order in the country
Among the interesting things noted was the way uniforms have changed. When the tribal police were recruited for the first time in 1898, the uniform was a pink calico cloth which was wrapped around the left shoulder and tied into a knot on the right. It flowed down to the knees and the wearers had no shoes. For ceremonial occasions they wrapped the cloth around the waist, wore navy blue pullovers and folded trousers across their torsos.
The uniform was later upgraded to khaki shirts and shorts but still without shoes. In 1936, the tribal police started wearing «akala» (i.e.sandals made of old car tyre). In 1948 they were issued with leather shoes and puttees. Their headgear was a hoodlike hat with an police officer’s number on the front. By the 1950s, the policemen were wearing white shirts and green pullovers. Traffic policemen wore steel helmets and stood on drums or wooden platforms at roundabouts directing traffic.
In 1961, only members of the General Service Unit (GSU) wore trousers, the rest were in shorts. In 1963, white shirts gave way to blue ones and brown shorts were worn. The policeman’s number was pinned on his shirt across his chest. The caps, which had pointed tips, were also blue. In 1976, the shirt turned to brown and the cap changed to a round one with a crown in front. Policewomen also started wearing skirts. They previously wore full flowing dresses.
The morale of the force was boosted in 1979 by the introduction of long trousers. In 1985, the colour of shirts reverted to blue for junior officers. So police uniforms have undergone many changes during the force’s history.
Much has appeared in the media concerning police corruption. The traffic cops are frequently mentioned because of their corrupt practices, but we should not generalise as some are honest. One such example of an honest cop is Inspector Joel Kipkemboi Sang who steadfastly refuses bribes of any kind and is not afraid to book offending drivers. In December 1995, when Sang was still a sergeant, he received the «Head of State’s Commendation» for his exemplary behaviour.
Poverty in the force
The police officers’s poverty-stricken situation has been given as one reason why they are wont to accept bribes. An opposition Member of Parliament, Professor Anyang’ Nyong’o, says: «If a policeman knows that when he retires he will have a good pension to live on, he is less likely to ask for bribes in order to have something put away for retirement».
That the police have a case, nobody denies. One police officer, Constable Habel, says: «After deductions you’re left with a derisory salary». One such «deduction» is a forced contribution to senior officers’ «fund-raising campaigns». Another «deduction» is for union dues (although like other civil servants, the police do not have a union).
Mr Joshua Orwa Ojode is an opposition Member of Parliament belonging to the National Development Party. He says that although police officers do receive some kind of hardship allowance, this has never been improved on since Independence.
In 1997, members of the Anti-Banditry Unit protested in Kitale (Rift Valley Province) against their poor working conditions. In December 2000, junior police officers threatened to go on strike over their poor remuneration, their poor working conditions and illegal deductions of their pay. Reacting to this threat, Police Commissioner Philemon Abong’o stated that it was against standing orders for any policeman to go on strike because of the very serious consequences such action would entail. The Commissioner said the officers should be content with what they are being paid, as there were thousands of other Kenyans who are jobless and have no hope of getting that kind of money. He added: «We have to make do with the money which is allocated to us».
The police are not allocated much from general government expenditure — most of the police budget goes towards salaries. Hence, another problem is housing. Apart from a few exceptions, officers usually live in tin huts which are mostly crowded. As a result, some police lines have been affected by the onslaught of communicable diseases such as dysentery. Alfred Mwanga, an officer who quit the force had this to say: «The housing problem has gone from bad to worse. When I was in the force, three or four families used to share just one room divided by a curtain. Now I think even more families are squeezed into a single room».
By way of explanation, a Nyanza provincial police officer, Mr. David Korir, comments that: «Sharing of rooms by police officers has been an established fact since time immemorial and there is very little we can do about that. Many of the deplorable conditions are dictated by the current poor state of the country’s economy, but the government needs to set aside some funds or seek a sponsor to help construct better houses for the police — if only as a stop-gap measure».
A policeman’s lot is not helped by the poor quality of his equipment. Police cars are old and lack speed. Criminals have fast cars and are increasingly acquiring sophisticated weapons. Consequently, a number of police officers have lost their lives. «And», as Dr. Willy Mutunga, executive director of Kenya’s Human Rights Commission, puts it: «Despite the numerous risks their work exposes them to, police officers are never insured and in the event of an officer being killed in the course of duty, subsequent family benefits are, in most cases, «peanuts».
Promotion is another dirty game. A former police officer told me that he had discouraged his children from joining the force, emphasising that «all the senior officers must have been involved in some kind of malpractice. There are those who pay bribes amounting to ten of thousands of shillings. Others go to great lengths to achieve honours, even planting things on innocent people and making wrongful arrests».
In March 2001, Mr. Orwa Ojode brought a motion before Parliament seeking to improve the living conditions of police officers. The motion is (at the time of writing) still awaiting debate. The National Development Party is seeking to push for the establishment of a commission to inquire into police force needs, especially salaries.
Summarising the problems in the force, a former graduate Inspector who resigned explained: «Things are bad my friend. Unfortunately, not many people know what is happening in our police service».
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