What Kanja should do to give Kenya a world-class police service

The nation recently united in congratulating Douglas Kanja on his appointment as the new Inspector General (IG) of Kenya Police Service. Following his successful interviewing and vetting, he assumed office as the 4th Inspector General under the 2010 Constitution and the 14th police boss since Kenya attained independence in 1963.

Now, with Kenya modernising and with changing security challenges, Kanja is expected to do what others have attempted to do but few have accomplished: Break the cartels that have dogged the police service. His predecessors, like Commissioner Hussein Ali and Edwin Nyaseda or the second Inspector-General Joseph Boinett, initiated reforms that had placed the police on a path toward ridding themselves of corruption and inefficiency but the efforts stopped short of transformation. The famous "Tonje Rules" transformed the Kenya Defence Forces, while Boinett is credited with transforming the National Intelligence Service (NPS). Now it is Kanja's turn to leave a similar legacy.

The police have recorded remarkable achievements in the last few years, especially in crime prevention and counter-terrorism. The establishment of community policing and specialist units such as the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit upgraded the police's capacity to adequately respond to these emerging security threats. As a result, the impact on the rule of law has been tremendous, and the rate of crime has been reduced, increasing public safety. But much remains to be done.

Police face myriad challenges, most of which came into the limelight during the Gen-Z protests and the Azimio la Umoja protests in 2023. Basic trust between citizens and the police is at an all-time low, while complaints about brutality, excessive use of force, corruption, and general inefficiency are rife. Young people and marginalised groups especially feel targeted. These incidents show that there is a dire need for a police service that respects human rights and is accountable to the people whom they have sworn to serve.

Urban policing is particularly in dire need of reform. Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Eldoret, and Nakuru, our major cities, are rapidly modernising, but their police stations remain outdated, poorly maintained, and inhuman. Most are dungeon-like and full of bad odours that point at neglect and do not instill confidence in the community or the officers who work in such environments.

Tell me, why has Nairobi modernised so much but the police stations are in such sorry states? Why not partner with developers building high-rise apartments in Kilimani, Kileleshwa, South C, Parklands and Kitusuru to rebuild police stations in those areas as a condition for approval? Why allow these developers to destroy our cities, sometimes while grabbing the remaining public land while not giving back to the community in terms of corporate social responsibility?

Kanja should transform the police force. The force, like any other modern service, should embrace technology to offer better efficiency in service delivery. Just imagine a situation where you are arrested for a minor traffic offence, which you agree doesn’t warrant going to a police station. Through an app, the police can initiate an instant fine, which the offender can decide to agree to pay electronically and instantly through USSD service and/or app or choose the route of challenging the matter in court or alternative dispute resolution routes.

Imagine DCI being able to provide crime reports backed by believable data and not the exaggerated essays they use now to mock suspects and dehumanise them even before they are charged in a court of law. Imagine police detention and Occurrence Book data being available through a secure portal for the relevant clients to see. Drones, robots, AI, and other modern technologies can improve our policing. Kanja, please invest in these. It’s not expensive as Kenya already has the infrastructure for the same.

We must re-imagine urban policing to include a blend of the modern city inspectorates in partnership with the NPS. Why do we blame police officers for extra-judicial killings or using excessive force when we only arm them with either a rungu, AK-47, or nothing? In modern cities, a police officer has on his/her duty belt a whip, handcuffs, radio, pistol, pepper spray and tasers. They can use any of the available tools to contain a challenging situation and protect it from getting out of control. In Kenya, we give them the option to kill or bludgeon to death, then we blame them for doing just that. 

With devolution, the inspectorates should be modern, armed, and well trained to undertake general law enforcement in cities while leaving police officers with more complex tasks, including the fight against organised crime and national security.

This is not the time for the IG to sit in Nairobi and focus on personal gain while police officers live in misery. Rather, Kanja should be a visionary leader who looks three to four generations ahead, envisioning a KPS fitted with modern guns, cars, and uniforms. There is no reason why police officers should be purchasing uniforms in the dark alleys. Our officers in critical missions should have standard operating gears which must be reviewed periodically.

Why do officers in plain-clothes' formations like DCI lack badges that can help identify them during critical moments?

Kanja should be a leader who looks at the problems of today and the Kenya of tomorrow. He has the opportunity to lead the most crucial police reform in Kenyan history. We hope he can seize it and use his passion to inspire the men and women under his command to build a police service that commands respect nationally and globally.

Our cities are rapidly modernising; it is about time that the police did so. With proper leadership and vision, IG Kanja can be at the helm of affairs of a police force that polices not only the laws but also lives up to the ideals of justice, integrity, and service to the people.