Rogue public officers a law unto themselves

Public office is a trust bestowed on an individual by the people who are sovereign. Any individual holding a position in public office is required to observe the highest form of integrity and strictly uphold not only the law but also moral etiquette befitting of the office.

Article 232 (1) (a) of the 2010 Constitution provides the values and principles of public service to include high standards of professional ethics. So when a public officer physically assaults a private citizen, this becomes a betrayal of that trust and a criminal offence that should attract severe punishment.

In many public offices, and more so at the Coast, public officers operate with impunity. Whether in hospitals, ministries’ corridors or even local administrators’ offices, wananchi are treated with disdain and rarely served with respect and integrity.

In hospitals, for instance, news abounds of how nurses mistreat the sick and frail. Kenyans have heard many horrid stories of mothers about to deliver being beaten and left on their own or delivering while receiving slaps and insults from nurses in public hospitals. In ministries corridors, tales of corruption and slow services are the order of the day. Even in chiefs' offices, the public is not spared.

So when human rights defenders and the bold amongst the public speak out against this rot, it is never received well by the officers and authorities. Instead of correcting the rot and improving services, rogue public officers are defended by their seniors, thus entertaining and encouraging the status quo.

Where any action is taken, in most cases the public officer is merely transferred to another station where they continue with their practice of denying the public the required service. The recycling of garbage is thus perpetuated by the system.

It must be emphasised to public officials, and especially those in authority, that theirs is a commitment to serve the people in an efficient, fair and impartial manner. Kenyans pay taxes, which translate to salaries and allowances of public officers. It is not only illegal but also immoral for a public official to abscond their obligation to diligently serve the people. When this immorality further extends to insulting and assaulting a member of the public, then the public officer loses all credibility to serve and must not only be removed from office but also face the full wrath of the law.

This week in Mombasa, an official of Haki Africa responded to a complaint where two pregnant women were kept waiting outside an Immigration official’s office for hours. From around 9am, when they arrived at the office, they had not been attended to when the Haki Africa officer arrived at around 3pm.

Upon inquiring with the relevant officer to understand what was happening, the male immigration officer is reported to have used derogatory words stating that he cannot respond to a “Swahili woman”. When informed that as a public officer he is required to serve all, it is reported that he got physical and assaulted the Haki Africa officer.

All Kenyans are equal before the law and in front of all public offices, including Immigration. Swahilis, Kikuyus, Mijikendas and Luos must be treated the same when in need of services. There is no inferior or superior community in the eyes of the law.

That a public officer would choose to look at your ethnicity in order to serve you in this day and age is appalling, to say the least. Further, women are equal to men. When a man disrespects a woman, it's equal to disrespecting their own mother, wife or daughter. When this extends to physical abuse, it must attract the harshest penalty permissible by law.

Human rights defenders, female and male, have dedicated their lives to serving and protecting due process, and the rights and liberties of the downtrodden. Theirs is a calling that ought to be respected and appreciated by all. No human rights defender should have to face mistreatment and physical assault simply for doing their job to promote and protect human rights.

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