The police have the unenviable job of maintaining law and order in dangerous situations, sometimes they risk death when dealing with armed criminals.
Police are well trained and sensible enough to choose the right tools and tactics for the right assignment.
That's why the nation was shocked by the brutal beating of a poor Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology student.
How can four armed and experienced policemen shove a student to the ground, then stomp on him? That's what we expect of a deranged mob.
These are the rotten apples that IG Hillary Mutyambai must remove lest they spoil the name of the professional police majority.
We commend Mutyambai for moving swiftly to suspend the four officers who behaved like thugs.
Many observers will recall that in October 2017 Police IG Joseph Boinnet shocked the nation after he defended the public flogging by police of University of Nairobi students.
In his feeble defence, he claimed UoN administrators invited his men to beat up troublesome students.
The new IG does the right thing.
We hope the suspension of the four despicable officers will send an unequivocal message that the mandate of the police is not to punish but to arrest and let the courts decide.
Quote of the Day:
“Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but of playing a poor hand well.”
Robert Louis Stevenson
The Scottish novelist (Treasure Island) was born on November 13, 1850
