Why police officers are quitting job for activism

During the pass out, police officers swear to defend the country and serve in loyalty, but what happens when they feel the service is no longer their calling?

Unlike yesteryears, cases of police officers quitting the service to focus on other private duties are on the rise which has left trail of questions from some quarters including security experts.

This is the case of Hiram Kimathi, Jackson Kihara alias Cop Shakur and former Kenya Defense Forces Officer Patrick Osoi who recently quit the service to chart another course that aligns to the civilians.

The three who have since left the service have teamed up to form an association dubbed 'Fighting Brutality and Impunity' (FBI), a name that resembles that of US security service.

“It is a registered association that has been up for about a month now and we purely fight all kinds of brutality, injustices and all kinds of impunity that is happening in Kenya,” Kimathi said.

According to Kimathi, he quit the police service  after he opposed Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen’s shoot-to-kill orders on those who attack police and police stations.

The former cop was transferred from Kyumbi police station to Todonyang in Northeastern parts of the country forcing him to quit after 14-year service in the Kenya Police Service.

And now, Kimathi says theirs (FBI) is a movement that advocates for the rule of law and a drive that champions for good governance.

 “We are targeting people who are suffering as a result of police brutality, either injured in anyway or lost their lives,” he explained, adding, “we have realised along the way that all the injustices that we are going through are not as a result of police or of the citizens,”

Kimathi argued that while they took an oath to remain loyal and protect the country, they could not sit back as impunity and injustice is meted upon Kenyans. 

“Some of these brutalities you are talking about are a case of someone who has been shot, maybe is in hospital, injured, lifetime scars,” he said 

Kimathi said the FBI focuses on the legal aspect and engaging well-wishers to foot the hospital bills for the victims of police brutality.

Ideally, officers are supposed to uphold the oath but in other cases one may resign or be dismissed from service over some disagreement which raises another issue of one’s benefits.

“What is happening right now? Why is it that anyone who stands against the current regime is branded an enemy?

While insisting that the police service owns him dues, Kimathi said he would seek court redress on the matter.

On the other hand, Jackson Kihara, popularly known as Cop Shakur found himself out of service following his criticism that started sometime last year and reached its climax during Gen-Z protests.

In his activism, Shakur was seen to be against the government to which he claimed his attempts to resign from the Prisons Service were rejected several times until he was dismissed.

In late May, 2025 Shakur announced that he had been fired from the service.

“I have officially been dismissed from the Kenya Prisons Service. I am working with my lawyer to sue the government,” he wrote.

Patrick Osoi, a former soldier, started within the disciplined forces after being recruited into the Kenya Defence Forces.

After exiting active military and intelligence service, Osoi ventured into entrepreneurship by founding Capital Choice Investments Ltd.

On July 28, he shared about their latest initiative FBI, on X, stating that it brings together cops who share the same ideology of fighting for Kenyans.

“We present ourselves to fight for the rights of every Kenyan mistreated by the police who follow illegal orders during the Gen Z-led protests and subsequent times,” he posted.

Osoi said, “Families of those killed during all these times, police officers and former police officers who have been neglected by the same system they fight for. Our mandate is to bring justice to our people, and we will fight tooth to nail to achieve it.”

In another post, the former soldier said he stepped out of service not for fame but freedom.

In response to these cases, the National Police Service spokesperson Muchiri Nyaga sayd police officers who leave the service are not barred from pursuing other interests including activism.

“They are free to do anything because they no longer represent the service in any way unlike the military. That is not betrayal because they are out of service,” said Nyaga.

He however, cautioned that while some officers leave the service in good faith, comments from those who are sacked from the service ought to be taken with a pinch of salt because they could be bitter or unhappy.