Community policing may solve the problem of forced disappearances, National Police Service spokesman Charles Owino has said.
Enforced disappearances have become a menace, especially at the Coast. Fingers in most cases have been pointed at the police, who have always denied involvement.
The latest case is that of siblings Juma Said, 26, and Samuel Riyango, 30. They were abducted by people believed to be police officers as they were about to board a matatu outside the Shanzu law courts on July 11.
The two had just attended the hearing of a case in which a private developer is claiming ownership of land they have lived on their whole lives.
Haki Africa has taken up the case and is pushing for police to ensure the two are found alive.
On Thursday, Owino said some issues may not be resolved at police headquarters and need community involvement.
He said every community has a unique system and must design how they want to manage their security.
“For example, why Kisauni? Why not Jomvu? We have had a lot of problems in Kisauni,” Owino said.
He spoke in Mombasa after launching a 36-member peace champion ambassador task force.
The task force was formed by Haki Africa in partnership with Forum Syd–a Swedish development cooperation with around 140 member organisations from the Swedish civil society.
It comprises 12 assistant county commissioners, 12 ward administrators and 12 youth leaders from the six subcounties in Mombasa.
The peace champions project aims at helping peace ambassadors bring the community and youth closer to the people to enhance tranquillity.
Haki Africa executive director Hussein Khalid said the gap between the police, the state and the community must be bridged to enable close collaboration.
“If there are any concerns, perceived or real, that actually deter us from getting closer, then that is the work of this project,” he said.
Owino said police officers are mandated constitutionally to ensure there is trust between them and the public.
He said one way to win the public's trust is to always keep confidential information given to them. “We should be able to use that information positively, not use it to demand bribes," Owino said.
He said fear of the police is another challenge that widens the gap between the service and the public.
"This is why the Kenya National Police Service formed the Internal Affairs Unit and removed its offices from the police headquarters to a private office at KCB Plaza in Upper Hill, Nairobi."
Pressure from bosses
Owino intimated the problem of enforced disappearances may be desperate attempts by officers under extreme pressure to be seen to be working.
This is how;
If there is any case of insecurity in Kisauni, the deputy county commissioner [Kipchumba Ruto] will get a call from Nairobi to answer questions.
The DCC, whose job is at stake because he is the chair of the security committee at the subcounty level, in turn, puts pressure on his security team which includes the small constable in the station who usually gets the last ‘beating’.
“The DCC, who is the chairman, has been pushed from above. Now he pushes his security committee and now the constable feels the heat," Owino said.
“The constable may be tempted, sometimes, to look for clandestine methods of sorting out the problem. So let us meet together as a community and get a resolve.”
The community can, for example, refuse to have individuals in civilian or uniform pick up people for interrogation without any of their members accompanying them to the station, the spokesperson said.
“The whole village should demand peacefully to bring the person to the police station themselves," Owino said.
“Once you take a person to the station and you see him get booked, don’t worry because if anything happens we have a record.”
He said police cannot take responsibility for any disappearance outside the station.
He noted there are people who impersonate police officers and take people away for malicious reasons.
Alternatively, Owino said, the community can demand identification from the people making the arrest and take pictures of them and their ID documents.
“They cannot fight a whole village. Let us help one another, especially on issues of disappearances.”
The police spokesman noted that people assume that any person who has disappeared has been taken away by police yet some voluntarily join groups like ISIS or al Shabaab.
“Issues of disappearance must be handled professionally and let us promote community policing,” he said.
Edited by R.Wamochie
