Saitoti assures Kenyans of peaceful referendum

The government has assured Kenyans of adequate security before and after the August 4 referendum on the Proposed Constitution.

Internal Security minister George Saitoti has said Kenyans should not be worried about their safety, with only 15 days remaining to the plebiscite.

“Those who believe they are going to repeat the events that were committed after the last general elections will not be able to do that,” he said during a security sector reform conference at the Hilton Hotel, Nairobi Tuesday.

“We shall not be caught on our laurels like it happened in 2007.”

Investigations revealed that 1,133 people died and 650,000 others were rendered homeless following the 2007 post-election violence.

The Internal Security minister was responding to concerns by his Justice counterpart Mutula Kilonzo, who had sought assurances that the vote will be free of any violence.

“With only 15 days remaining, you must give us a peaceful referendum,” said Mr Kilonzo.

There have been concerns that hate speech had created divisions in parts of the country and could lead to violence.

Polarised country

Indeed, religious leaders had asked for the August 4 vote on the to be postponed until the Yes and No camps reach consensus on contentious issues.

The country, they added, was too ‘polarised’ to hold the referendum, citing last month’s bombing of a prayer meeting cum No rally in Nairobi’s Uhuru Park as an example.

The meeting turned tragic after two explosions tore through the crowd, killing six people and injuring many others.

Prof Saitoti said the police force has began to undertake key reforms that had been recommended by the Philip Ransley Task Force on Police Reforms, which submitted its report last November.

The report highlighted reforms in four priority areas: police accountability, professionalism, operational and administrative reforms, and institutional policy and legislative reforms.

He said passage of the proposed constitution would further give the police force a strong mandate to implement security reforms.

“The passage of the draft constitution will provide us with what I call the mother of all reforms,” Prof Saitoti said.

“I have no doubt in my mind that Kenyans now have a golden opportunity really to have a country that will be on par with the best countries in the world.”

Although current police reforms have moved slowly due to lack of funding, Prof Saitoti said that his Ministry and Treasury are debating the release of funds for 1,000 additional police vehicles.

Prosecution powers

In addition, Sh2 billion has been allocated to improve police communication technology. The money will be used to fund a police communication and command centre, install CCTV infrastructure in Nairobi and construct a forensic laboratory for the Criminal Investigations Department.

Finally, the treasury has made available Sh1.8 billion for the continued improvement of police housing.

Mr Kilonzo also said passage of the proposed constitution will be critical for further accountability reforms in the security sector. He stressed a provision in the document that would remove prosecuting powers from the police.

“The prosecution by policemen in courts is perhaps the worst conflict of interest one can imagine,” he said.

Hassan Omar, commissioner of the Kenyan National Commission on Human Rights, stressed the need for a civilian oversight body to make the police more accountable to the public.

“If these organs are not subservient to the public, we are in a police state or a military junta,” Mr Omar said.