“Rome wasn't built in a day,” Interior CS Fred Matiang’i stated when insisting that he would not relent on transforming the National Police Service (NPS), which for years has faced more criticism than praise.
Matiang'i’s transformations range from leadership, recruitment, promotions, guidance and counselling, and enhancement of service.
The CS was adamant that he would be courageous and would focus on an unprejudiced citizen review of police officers to realize the ultimate goal of a fully professional, responsive, and accountable service.
“There's an encouraging indicator that we're steadily marching towards police reforms, with 63 percent of Kenyans reporting that they're satisfied with services offered by police, an increase of 29 percent since 2009 based on the Police Service Delivery Performance Survey 2021,” Matiang'i tweeted on June 25.
Recruitment of Officers & Promotions
The Interior Ministry believes that the recruitment of police officers has been their biggest ailment.
The CS proposed blocking Kenyans who attain D and below KCSE Grades from joining the service as they limit the service’s capacity to deal with the complex science necessary to investigate crime.
Training of cadets would also inject new capacities, new energy in the manner in which we lead the police service according to Matiang’i.
He added that the police service should demonstrate meritocracy, objectivity, fairness and professionalism in how promotions are conducted and that the NPS Commission will reform promotion procedures.
Security experts and psychologists lauded Matiang’i for the changes in the service but argued that some of his changes leave more questions than answers.
As much as the CS is hell-bent on reforming the sector, some of his directives have been termed authoritarian and retrogressive.
George Msamali, a former police officer and security expert questioned the Police Service Delivery Performance Survey 2021 and wondered how many Kenyans participated in the survey.
“These are the Kenyans who shy away from reporting cases at the police stations where they have to bribe officers for follow-ups. I think we can even reach the point where people will be charged for recording statements, Occurrence Book records, etc,” Msamali noted when speaking to Kenyans.co.ke.
He argued that some of the same issues police are facing now are the same they faced when he left the service in 2000.
Among the reforms Msamali believes are dragging the service are; banning police from complaining on social media, blocking marriages between officers and barring visitors from entering police quarters without bosses' permission.
“Those are not reforms. These changes are curtailing the freedom of speech, association and others. The late corporal Caroline Kangogo complained of police frustrations, the same was witnessed by her colleague in Mombasa and other cases witnessed of late.
“This tells you that there is something wrong with the service,” Musamali stated.
The expert added that changing police uniforms and holding conferences in hotels cannot guarantee reforms.
Issues to be addressed
Sexual harassment, salaries, frustration by bosses and independence of the service are among key issues the former officer wants to be addressed.
He argued that gagging police from airing their issues and claiming to be counselling them was like taking one step ahead and two steps back.
Msamali argued that most of these issues were addressed by the Kriegler Report which proposed independence of the service from the Executive and vetting of Inspector Generals as opposed to being appointed by the President.
Mental Health
In 2021, the number of police officers raising grievances against their bosses, sexual harassment cases at work, and depression-related suicide cases were reported.
A psychologist attached to the service spoke to Kenyans.co.ke on condition of anonymity - revealing some of the reforms being undertaken to promote the mental health of officers.
Senior Police bosses were trained on man-management and appraisal of their juniors.
In April 2019, Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai promised to look into the mental health of the police officers.
“The service needs to be overhauled and there is more that’s needed other than press conferences and some harsh directives,” security expert Msamali stated.
Ruto Arrives in Rome for Pope Francis Burial News Just In
