Our motto in the police force is “Utumishi kwa wote”. Service to all. Most think of it as a guaranteed promise to the citizenry by their armed law enforcers. And it should be, but between serving and enforcing the law is a very thin line we must tread.
Take, for instance, this colleague of mine who chanced upon a man lugging a refrigerator almost as tall as he was.
“Hi there, citizen,” called the cop. “What’s going on here?”
The man put down the fridge and took a couple seconds to get his breathing in order.
“Hello, officer. I’m taking this appliance to the repair shop. Jason was supposed to come help but… Jason is my friend, but you know how it is. He’s probably somewhere engulfed in a cloud of pot smoke. Oops! I shouldn’t have said that, should I? Seeing as you’re a policeman and all.”
“Do you have a receipt for the appliance, sir?”
“Sure, I do. I bought the thing at a sale over the supermarket. It’s right there in the pickup. I’ll go grab it for you.” The man took a few steps then turned around and walked back. “You know what? I’ve been wondering if I should do this, then I thought, eff it. I’m just going to do it anyway.”
“Do what?”
“Ask for a hand. Do you mind? I mean, you’d be doing my poor back a great favour. It wasn’t easy hauling this thing from the house all by myself.”
The cop thought it about it for a second. “Sure. Why not?”
The two men carried the fridge between them and hitched it into the bed of the pickup.
“Thanks so much, officer,” the man said. “You have no idea how much help you’ve been. You people do certainly take your motto to heart. Utumishi kwa wote, right?”
“The receipt, sir,” reminded the policeman.
“Of course, sir. It’s inside the glove compartment. I’ll go get for you right away.”
As the policeman waited, the man started the pickup and drove off.
The lawman reacted fast, got into his vehicle geared to give chase, but out of nowhere came a car screeching to a halt before the police cruiser. Out of the blocking vehicle emerged a woman who rushed to the police car in quite a state.
“Oh, thank God you’re here,” said the woman. “I got a call that someone broke into my house and was stealing my stuff.”
“Stealing?” The cop looked around. “Do you know what was stolen?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t been inside the house yet. Oh my God! I just got a PS4 for the kids.”
“Tell you what, get your vehicle out of my way, go into the house and find out what was stolen. I’ll be right back.”
As the flustered woman paved the way, a man approached the other side of the cruiser, car keys in hand. “Oh, man, am I glad you’re here. Someone just drove off in my pickup.”
“In your pickup?”
“That’s what I just said.”
“It wouldn’t happen to be a white Toyota pickup, would it?”
The man breathed a sigh of relief and looked up as if in supplication. “Thank you, Lord,” he said before turning to the cop. “You did see who took it, right? I’d parked it right over there.”
Once the policeman’s way was clear, he drove out of the place as if he had hotwired the stolen vehicle himself. Only until the thief had been nabbed was he brave enough to narrate his ordeal to the rest of his colleagues.
Yep! It’s a thin line between protecting and serving.
