It is depressing watching the news these days.
Often, the first 10 items are about murders, kidnaps, disappearances and defilements. Covid-19 statistics then crawl in at eleventh.
Picture this: A man, his wife and child are driving from one major town in the country to another on a busy highway. A car blocks their way, and occupants of that car summon the husband for a conversation in their car. The husband comes back to pick his wallet, and one of the occupants gets into his car to drive his wife and child to the next town, while the husband is taken to the stranger’s car for the ride.
It is the last time the wife sees her husband, and weeks later, she has no idea who the strangers were or where they took her husband. The police would have you believe they have no idea too, suggesting, therefore, that these may have been criminals, until you remember these people came back for relatives of the kidnapped man, in similar fashion.
If we assume for a moment these were criminal gangs, our next question would still be directed at the police: What sort of audacity do these criminals have that they stop people on main roads, have a chat, come back for relatives, and the police can’t find them?
You and I know the answer, but we will leave it at that for now.
If you are a keen watcher of national security, the last few months will worry you. There have been kidnaps, defilement and murders of children. A popular security consultant has disappeared while driving to his home county.
A group of friends was kidnapped in Kitengela, only for their bodies to pop up in rivers in Central Kenya. Then there is, of course, the latest episode of this bizarre series, where a sharpshooter policewoman, having allegedly murdered two of her lovers — one of them a fellow police officer — ended up in an alleged suicide at her parents’ home in Elgeyo Marakwet county.
Not surprisingly for this series, all three deaths involved guns, in populated areas, but no one heard gunshots!
The only surprising thing in the case of corporal Caroline Kangogo must have been just how generously the police allowed evidence from the alleged suicide scene to find its way into blogosphere, with raw pictures and supposed contents of a phone found with her being widely circulated on social media.
Maybe it was important for the investigators that the suicide theory sticks, and fast.
For purposes of argument, let us examine the cases we know, and classify them into two general possibilities: A few members of the security services gone rogue, or criminals confidently running riot across the country.
The two may in fact be the same thing. If either of the two is correct, then we have a big problem with the security agencies. Rogue cops getting more emboldened by the day can only mean a breakdown of the chain of command.
On the other hand, if these are the works of criminals, yet they are not getting apprehended, then we still have a problem of lethargy, incompetence and possibly a command breakdown in the police force. We live in very unique times. The presidency, as envisaged in the 2010 Constitution, a shared responsibility between the president and his deputy, has been sharply divided by bitter politics.
It is possible the country underestimates the attendant consequences of this fallout on the civil service and security agencies. Indeed, we never seem to appreciate the fact that divided loyalties down the chain, between the two former close allies, could mean more and more people in the civil service are taking up their team colours and openly sabotaging the other side.
Ahead of the recent Kiambaa by-election, President Uhuru Kenyatta uncharacteristically welcomed the Jubilee candidate to State House to convey his best wishes, while party elected leaders went out of their way to campaign and show confidence in an impending victory, which was also quite unlike them.
My reading as a student of politics and history was the President might have received intelligence reports that he was headed for a rare victory. That didn’t happen. I was left to ponder whether he had been blatantly misled by people in his own security apparatus.
If that was the case, just how widely does it go?
The problem with small security challenges is that they may be a microcosm of bigger issues within the establishment. This, coupled with the spectacle of a commander in chief who is retiring — rather than seeking another term — presents the difficult prospect of perceived divisions in the security establishment. This makes it impossible for the security agencies to be fair arbiters and overseers of the crucial electoral process.
We were lucky that in 2007, when law and order broke down from the electoral fallout, that the military remained a trusted and united institution the country could turn to in rebuilding its nationhood. The next electoral cycle is about to hit a crescendo, and we cannot rely on national security institutions to keep up safe from the tribal divisions politicians will be sowing soon. This is if their own officers run across the country shooting people and not getting caught, or civilians are being picked up on the roads then their bodies are found in rivers days later.
I hold the view that those entrusted with running the security apparatus in Kenya do not have a grip on the emerging issues, and do not appreciate the disturbing combination of a divisive election alongside weak command structures within the security agencies.
I am also persuaded that the efficient narrative-building that happens after every mysterious death, kidnap or disappearance, points to a ruthless information machinery around these incidents, where for instance, a victim of an execution is immediately branded a former criminal, before details of the murder are clear.
It is not too much to ask, for the citizens of this country, already burdened by taxes, joblessness and a pandemic, to demand that those we pay to keep us safe do a better job in creating a stable environment for the coming poll, and reign in on what clearly appears to be rogue elements and gangs in the security structure.
Indeed, if there are divided loyalties in his security apparatus, the President must come out and stamp his authority or risk a chaotic electoral season that would make 2007 seem like a kindergarten picnic.
The signs are there, and there is no need to wait for a bigger trigger before acting.
