President William Ruto’s first speech as Head of State was full of promise. Will he live up to his billing? Only time will tell. It’s all well and good for him to actualise police autonomy. But I wonder how Kenya will deal with the rogue officers in this service.
Picture this, a neighbour was robbed at gunpoint just the other day in one of the Nairobi estates. She had come out a butchery and the time was the early minutes of seven in the evening. She was robbed of her new phone, for which she was still paying.
She rushed to report to the nearest police station but was kicked out. The officers told her it was her fault she was robbed—she was out at night. It was 7pm for Pete’s sake, people are out buying supper and heading home after a long day at work. Don’t they have a right to be safe?
A few nights before that, a businesswoman going home at the end of the day was robbed of her day’s earnings, at knifepoint and on the same road, and as a result, her business has collapsed. What’s strange is that no police officers have been seen patrolling the area despite the two robberies with violence.
It’s all well and good to reassure civil servants, but what about couples who are forced to give out bribes to get marriage licences? And all this hours before the big ceremony.
What about Kenyans who are forced to give bribes to get passports? Woe unto you if you’re a hustler who’s just managed to get the fees needed and don’t have extra cash to bribe those precious public servants. You will be frustrated to the point of contemplating suicide.
I should know, it happened to a loved one who had stayed for years without a job and was pursuing what seemed like a viable opportunity. So as Ruto made all those grand promises yesterday, I thought of these instances and frankly, I’m not holding my breath for change.
