Don’t transfer rogue police officers, sack them
What you need to know:
- Crooks in uniform have no place in the service, whose responsibility is to ensure that justice is done.
- The only problem is that deploying the culprits to other stations is tantamount to transferring a problem elsewhere.
- They should have been suspended and then charged over the wrongdoing.
The National Police Service (NPS) has, in an unprecedented move, transferred all the officers from a police station in Murang’a County, following serious complaints by locals.
The swift action by the NPS is commendable, as it took just two weeks to investigate and confirm the allegations of wrongdoing by the officers.
It is a welcome assurance that rogue officers will not be allowed to abuse their powers.
With all the eight junior officers and their commander at Saba Saba Police Station removed, their replacements should be immediately posted so that security services are not interrupted.
The officers were accused of extortion, theft, alcoholism and misuse of firearms. A local leader described the police station as a criminal den.
Crooks in uniform have no place in the service, whose responsibility is to ensure that justice is done.
Transferring problem
The only problem is that deploying the culprits to other stations is tantamount to transferring a problem elsewhere.
They should have been suspended and then charged over the wrongdoing.
Rogue police officers continue to taint the image of the service countrywide.
Many people will be pleased to hear that the NPS did not hesitate to crack down on the culprits in the case of Saba Saba Police Station.
And it did not matter that the station would be left without its entire staff, as their replacements should now be quickly mobilised and dispatched.
Anybody who has any grievances arising out of the misconduct of individual officers or even units or departments should not hesitate to report them.
It is because of such cases that the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (Ipoa) was established through an Act of Parliament.
The agency conducts investigations into allegations against the police to enhance professionalism and discipline in the service.
Besides investigating police misconduct, it also looks into actions that result in deaths or serious injuries.
To send a stern warning to all the errant police officers, the allegations against the Saba Saba officers should be thoroughly investigated to establish individual responsibility and those found culpable arraigned.
