BY ALICE WAITHERA
Police statements recorded from people with disabilities should be done at their homes, an NGO has proposed.
Ahadi Kenya Trust CEO Stanley Kamau also wants police to give out hotline numbers for people with disabilities to raise alarm whenever they are assaulted.
Kamau on Friday said many criminal cases reported by disabled persons are unsuccessful in court because they are not reported on time. This, he said, makes the cases weak and end up being dismissed.
He cited a case where a blind woman from Nyanza was recently raped and her case thrown out after the suspect asked her if she could recognise him.
“Majority of them are unable to get to police stations on time to record statements due to their disabilities, which disadvantages them,” Kamau said.
He said many disabled people suffer attacks such as assault and rape, and are unable to get justice.
Kamau said police should issue out hotlines that the disabled can use to reach them and have their statements recorded at home.
“Their plight needs to be considered so that they can be accorded the necessary assistance.”
He was speaking during the launch of a clean-up drive for police stations in Maragua. The drive was aimed at ensuring police officers work and live in hygienic environments.
Kamau urged persons living with disabilities to register with the national council to benefit from government incentives.
He issued foodstuff to over 200 people living with disabilities and disbursed hand washing tanks to 20 police stations in Murang'a county.
Deputy Inspector of Police Edward Mbugua who officiated the event said it is the role of police officers to serve all Kenyans and that they should go out to disabled persons to serve them from their homes.
“A victim does not have to go to a police station to record a statement. Officers can write the details on a piece of paper and later transfer them to the Occurrence Book (OB),” Mbugua said.
Mbugua praised Kamau for the clean-up exercise saying police officers will have their morale boosted by living in clean environments.
He challenged MPs to help refurbish police stations through the CDF kitty.
Mbugua said over 3,000 police officers have left the National Police Service since 2017 through retirement or death yet no new ones have been recruited.
Over 700 new police stations have also been gazetted, bringing the total number to 1,300 countrywide.
“We are ordered to staff these new stations but there are no extra funds,” he said, urging traders to build rental houses near police stations to accommodate officers who now benefit from house allowances.
Mbugua challenged parents to report their children who indulge in drug abuse to help police reduce crime.
“Parents notice the changed behaviour of their children when they start indulging in drugs but do not report them yet many continue to blame the police,” Mbugua said.
He made the appeal after Maragua MP Mary Waithera expressed concerns on the high levels of bhang smoking in the area.
Waithera said many of the suppliers have connections with the police and are allowed to pass roadblocks, claiming some peddlers were using police vehicles.
“Bhang is now being sold like vegetables in Maragua. With the schools closed, more and more children are being recruited into bhang smoking,” the MP said.
Edited by P.O
