Needed: Full, not piecemeal reforms for Kenya police
Kenyan police unblock the Meru-Nairobi highway in Chuka town, Tharaka Nithi County which had been barricaded by boda boda taxi riders who were protesting the shooting to death of their leader. PHOTO | ALEX NJERU | NMG
‘Police shoot dead an unarmed demonstrator in Chuka, Tharaka Nithi County.’
This heading demonstrates that, despite reforms in the force following the defeat of the Kanu dictatorship in 2002, there is a residual Kanu mentality inconsistent with policing in a democratic state. In every post-Kanu administration, we have witnessed use of excessive force, including live bullets on unarmed people. Even shooting children playing on balconies, oblivious to the demonstrations in the streets, happens.
