Police ill prepared for elections, says civil society
Executive Director at Defenders Coalition Kamau Ngugi (right), Inuka na Sisi Deputy CEO Kawive Wambua (centre) and Executive Director at Independent Medico-Legal Unit Peter Kiama during a press briefing in Nairobi on July 14, 2022.
What you need to know:
- The lobby groups yesterday expressed concern with the manner in which officers handle civilians during protests, saying many use excessive force.
- They faulted the late roll-out of the electoral security management manual and the training of regional, county and sub-county police commanders.
- The civil society groups also faulted the transfer of senior officers barely a month to the polls.
The civil society has sounded the alarm about lack of security preparedness for the August 9 General Election, saying things could spin out of control if the government doesn’t move fast to retrain the police.
The lobby groups yesterday expressed concern with the manner in which officers handle civilians during protests, saying many use excessive force.
With the elections period expected to be full of protests, the human rights activists said they really feared for their safety as well as that of Kenyans.
They also faulted the transfer of senior officers barely a month to the polls despite a memo sent by Deputy Inspector-General of Police Edward Mbugua stopping such signals until after the elections. Kasarani Sub-County Police Commander Peter Mwanzo was moved to Nakuru as the county boss a fortnight ago.
“While we appreciate the efforts by the National Police Service to promote its officers, these transfers raise concerns as they require time to familiarise with the policing terrain. The timings may further raise suspicion by the public and may lead to the service to be partisan,” said Mr Peter Kiama, the Independent Medical Legal Unit (IMLU) Executive Director.
The lobby groups included Inuka Ni Sisi, IMLU, Article 19 for Eastern Africa, Kenya Human Rights Commission, Defenders Coalition and Muslim for Human Rights.
They faulted the late roll-out of the electoral security management manual and the training of regional, county and sub-county police commanders.
“The training of officers on that manual started late and therefore there is no likelihood that they will all will be trained. We believe only 50 per cent will have been trained by the time of elections,” said Mr Kiama.
While they appreciated the recruitment of 5,000 officers in March to bridge the gap in police-civilian ratio, they said their deployment was not timely due to their inexperience.
Swift response
“This may increase human rights violations during the elections and we call on more purposeful dialogue between the Chief Justice, Attorney-General, Director of Public Prosecutions, the NPS and the Independent Policing Oversight Authority to enhance coordination,” said Mr Kiama.
Despite the hitches, they commended the swift response of the police in maintaining peace and order in chaotic political rallies.
“Officers have been responsive and were able to control crowds after a teargas canister was thrown at the dais at Kisii Stadium on June 30,” said Mr Kamau Ngugi, the Executive Director, Defenders Coalition. He was referring to a rally addressed by Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition presidential running mate Martha Karua.
Mr Ngugi called for allocation of adequate resources to IPOA and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights for them to successfully monitor, investigate and enhance police accountability during the elections.
“We also call on the Judiciary to fast-track justice for victims of police brutality and ensure the government compensates them as directed by the courts,” he said.
They asked Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i and his Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho to ensure there are no perceptions of impartiality and bias with regard to the way they behave during the polls.
“They should also respect the independence of the police service and keep off politics. They should not be seen to support any side because they are in charge of national security,” said Mr Ngugi.
He urged Inspector-General of Police Hilary Mutyambai to ensure the deployment of officers, finances, tools, will be non-discriminatory.
Constitutional mandate
Mr Matiang’i met with development partners, officials from the Office of the President, the National Treasury and investors in Nairobi.
He assured them that Kenya is ready for the elections and all security measures have been put in place to ensure peaceful polls.
“We are ready, prepared and totally committed to supporting the Independent Elections and Boundaries Commission to conduct the next elections. We will do everything required to fulfill our constitutional mandate, namely to ensure a stable country, peaceful and effective transition,” he said.
