Seven months down the line, Kenyans are not sure whether to expect the force to change and deliver on security as things seem to have settled back into their old ways, leading to the question: is the Kenya Police gearing up for reform?

The Kenya Human Rights Commission and the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative early this year organised a conference to advocate comprehensive police reforms that would ensure the centrality of human rights and the rule of law in the day-to-day functioning and culture of the police force. 

The legal framework under which the Kenya police operate grants them wide discretionary powers, without providing adequate mechanisms to check excesses. In public opinion polls, the majority of Kenyans have repeatedly indicated that, at best, they lack confidence in the impartiality and effectiveness of the police, and at worst, they actively fear them.

In a society with one of the highest crime rates in the world, the average Kenyan citizen believes that half the members of the police force are corrupt and that over one-third of all crime committed in the country is attributable to police criminality. 

Whereas the government has increased pay perks for police officers in what has been widely acclaimed as a first step towards improving performance, police reform cannot be accomplished piecemeal. Institutional arrangements and management systems designed to ensure police accountability and adherence to the rule of law must be put in place before other, more targeted reforms can take hold. Programmes to enhance specific police operational capacities, provide fora for engagement between the police and the community and train police personnel in the principles of human rights, need to be put in place. Already, human-rights education has been included in the current police training curriculum.

The Police Force Standing Orders must be revised to conform to the spirit of the constitution while internal accountability mechanisms must be identified, their workings evaluated and the institutions strengthened. These include, in particular, the internal complaints mechanism and the disciplinary system; effective mechanisms to provide redress to the public for complaints against the police, as external mechanisms are inadequate and internal mechanisms are weak; and an end to the general government culture of secrecy that does not encourage public scrutiny of government or police functioning.

The Kenya government’s police reform agenda seems to be pegged on what has broadly been referred to as police modernisation and motivation. This is effected by improving the equipment and working infrastructure of the police. While this is important, it is not the most urgent. This is because it does not respond to the realities of rampant corruption in the police force, brutal, trigger-happy policing practice, and the powerful interests inside and outside the police force who regularly resort to extralegal interference with police operations.

For meaningful change to be achieved, police reforms must enhance the accountability of police to the law, and to Kenyans. They must address the culture within the force that condones rampant corruption, unacceptably high levels of crime and a passive attitude to inter-ethnic violence.

It must be borne in mind that most police officers joined the force as the only option available, at times buying recruitment. Therefore, to them, being a police officer is more a way of earning a living than a vocation. They owe their allegiance to their benefactors rather than to the laws and principles that should govern their conduct. 

Crime and violence which have resulted partly from a non-performing police have eroded public trust and co-operation, weakening the social contact between the government and the citizens. Improving public perception of police integrity is fundamental in improving policing efficiency and effectiveness. 

The police has often cited lack of resources as a main cause of its problems, and while this can be used to justify under-performance, it cannot be an excuse for the low quality of policing in Kenya, neither can it excuse police misconduct or behaviour contrary to the law.

Political interference in the operations of the police, to the extent that they are perceived as operating to achieve political ends, rather than enforcing the rule of law, was once again evident when the former president’s son, Gideon Moi, was prevented from addressing a political rally in his constituency last month. It would appear the Kenya police are still a "regime force," serving the interests of the status quo.

Police reform in Kenya must take a multifaceted approach at various levels. The environment through which sustainable police reform can be achieved, as established under the constitution, should be one in which it is clear that the government is responsible for ensuring that the police act according to the law. It should also ensure that the head of the police enjoys security of tenure, which should have no relation to the political calendar, and is appointed and removed using a clearly defined process. Citizens must be guaranteed the right to information, and constitutional bodies set up to monitor the performance of the police. Promotion must be entirely on competence and professionalism as opposed to political affiliation. 

Ultimately, in addition to paying policemen better and equipping them, they need retraining to refocus on their primary responsibilities as custodians and enforcers of law and order.

Catherine Riungu is a correspondent for The EastAfrican

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