Our brothers and sisters in uniform must not disregard the law

Our brothers and sisters in uniform must not disregard the law

The beauty with the law is that it makes every citizen a subject, inspite of one’s social and political standing. It privileges everyone to rights and freedoms that must be protected at all times. It is for this purpose that it must be safeguarded. That is why there is the judicial arm of the government. The police (Prisons, GSU and Kenya Police) are mandated with protection of the law and ensuring that no one undermines it and infringes on the rights and freedoms of others.

This does not put them anywhere above the law. Neither does it exempt them from any responsibility of a normal citizen of this country. As a matter of fact, good custodians of the law put the people they protect first.

The latest event of how prison wardens stormed Kakamega General Hospital and terrorized the guards and brought activities at the hospital to a near standstill is just one of the many instances of oppression by our beloved police officers we meet in our day to day activities.

Fact of the matter is that our police officers have always thought that they are so above the law that their welfare comes first in the public domain. Maybe it is supposed to be like that, it is the public which is not getting it. Maybe there is a section of the constitution that gives them an edge when it comes to respect for simple civil ethics. Someone needs to come clear on this.

They do believe they come first in everything. They do not line up in banks or at any event. Infact they also ensure their relatives do not line up. To instill fear amongst disgruntled citizens, some come with guns. Who will dare raise a hand when there is a gun around? In the present state, one may even be shot dead and made to look like a thug. How are their vehicles driven on our roads? On high speed, they pass traffic police unchecked, infact, accompanied by a salute.

Examples abound and the fact of the matter is that the public is not happy with this at all. Infact, this bullying tendency has just aggravated public hatred for an arm of the government that seriously needs radical surgery to be totally embraced by the people.

We hope for a police force that considers itself a servant of the people, that does not undermine them and that which considers itself an equal of the people it protects. The law protects all of us.

If the wardens behaved like in public, who can guess what our prisoners go through in those maximum security penal facilities? God protect me, I don’t find myself there.

We pray that the police reforms move swiftly fact. We can’t achieve this if we continue with this culture of denial that has always characterized our leaders while defending our security operatives. We must admit that something is wrong with our society and work together to bring it back to sanity. Kenyans will never reap the full benefits of the new constitution if the people mandated to protect their rights, freedoms and autonomy are not reformed. We pray for flexibility over this.

Chrispory Juma Ombuya,

Final-year student of Environmental Health, Moi University.