The Ruto regime wants police to shoot and kill any suspect and those orders are coming from all corners in the top security apparatus of the government. The message to Kenyans is that whenever you see a police officer in front of you, you see a killer ready to shoot you.
How do these people expect Kenyans to react to these orders of death confrontations with police officers? Why does anybody want a war between the Kenyan police and the citizens? Who is going to benefit from this? Not the police and certainly not the citizens.
Law and order actually have the word “Law” for a reason. That is the duty of police officers everywhere in the world except in totalitarian thug governments which often promotes security officers to kill. Why is this government taking Kenyans on that route? If they are scared of thugs harming Kenyans why then do they want to turn the police into a force of thugs and killers?
Kindiki the Interior CS is very mad that the Kenya police are not killing enough people and he wants them to do their job which according to him is to shoot to kill.
And to follow orders from above the Kenyan chief of police, Koome has told his crew to do the killing and ignore any concerns from groups like IPOA which he referred to as busybodies.
Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome has slammed the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) for criticizing police officers who err while executing their mandate but keep mum when the same officers are killed in the line of duty.
Speaking Friday during the memorial service of the fallen officers from the National Police Service and the Kenya Prisons services at the Administration Police Training College (APTC) Embakasi Campus, the IG urged the officers to use their firearms to defend themselves, if their lives or the lives of civilians were threatened.
“Officers, we don’t want to hear you’ve been hurt, your hand cut yet you have a gun with you. Count on the IG to stand with you. We have a committed CS. Do not be cowed by the busybodies who keep on calling for the arrest of police officers. Today we are mourning and I don’t see them anywhere,” he said.
The IG emphasized that the police will not back down in its attempts to crack down on criminal elements trying to terrorize civilians, urging security officers around the country to use their service weapons in accordance with the law and without fear or intimidation from any party.
“We will not be intimidated or cowed, we are going to discharge our mandate as stipulated in the constitution of this country,” Koome stated.
“As directed by the IG, we will support our security officers, they must use their firearms to protect themselves and, the citizens as well as property.”
According to media reports, IPOA is fighting back against attempts by the crazy Ruto law enforcement authorities to sideline them to provide a free license for Kenyan police to kill and kill with no fear of accountability.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) has responded to remarks by Police Inspector General Japhet Koome that lumped it among ‘busy bodies’ concerning itself with the National Police Service’s affairs.
In a statement issued on Saturday, IPOA chairperson Anne Makori also castigated the IG over ‘shoot to kill’ remarks he made against suspected criminals.
“Our attention is drawn to the unfortunate and dangerous statement attributed to the Inspector General of Police Eng. Japhet Koome yesterday where he gave police officers a shoot to kill order against suspected criminals,” reads the statement in part.
Makori added that the authority has for the last 10 years been busy ensuring that officers mandated to protect lives and property of Kenyans operate within the confines of the law.
“For the 10 years the Authority has been in existence, rightfully, it has been busy, ultimately to ensure that Kenyans have confidence in the men and women in uniform – the police – in whom they entrust their lives and property on a daily basis. In this period, the impact of IPOA on policing has been significant,” said Makori.
“IPOA has made policy recommendations that have reduced crime by embedding the police to live within communities; helped realize a functional Internal Affairs Unit; informed acquisition of police vehicles for rapid response and officer safety in operations.”
Can the Ruto security new chiefs read the Human Rights Watch report on police violence and killings in Kenya. That is a report from an international human rights body produced in 2020. That problem was being addressed and now the government is issuing express orders for Kenyan police to just kill people on suspicion.
Here is the report:
https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/02/20/kenya-no-letup-killings-nairobi-police
“Kenyan police are shooting young people dead in total disregard of the rules for the use of force,” said Otsieno Namwaya, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Kenyan authorities should end these unlawful and unjustified killings of unarmed people and bring officers involved in the killings to justice.”
In January 2020, Human Rights Watch interviewed 23 people including witnesses, family members of victims, hospital mortuary staff, medical and social workers, activists, and police personnel. Human Rights Watch worked closely with partner organizations in Mathare, Majengo, and Kasarani to identify victims and families.
In 3 low-income neighborhoods, police killed at least 8 young men 3 weeks after Christmas, Human Rights Watch found. In Mathare, on December 25 at about 5:30 p.m., police shot dead Peter Irungu, 19, and Brian Mung’aru, 20. Both men were kneeling and pleading with police to spare their lives when they were shot, witnesses said.
On December 26, anti-riot police violently suppressed a protest over the young men’s killings, using live ammunition, tear gas, and beatings. The police beat protesters, injuring more than 10, and arrested many. Police blocked media outlets from accessing Mathare to cover the demonstrations, according to witnesses there
It should be fairly clear that anybody promoting armed conflict between the Kenya police and the citizens they are supposed to serve and protect is asking for anarchy in law enforcement in the country which will harm everybody. We know the Ruto boys are desperate to get attention and be in the media. That is fine. Can they restrict themselves to the delivery of beans to hungry Kenyans and ask for ten photos in every event? That might help them. We have a sick government. We know that but don’t blow it up.
Armed criminal gangs are not only a danger to the police, they are a danger to the public and everybody else including businesses. If all and everybody work together including law enforcement right from the doorstep the matter can be addressed better. Why not try that without reckless threats?
Adongo Ogony is a Kenyan Human Rights Activist and a Writer who lives in Toronto, Canada
