Two decades on, police reforms falter under politics, brutality

The murder of Albert Ojwang’ while in custody has once again exposed the dark side of police — a malignant legacy that persists despite two decades of reform efforts that have largely remained elusive.

The first formal attempt at reforming the police service dates back to 2003 under President Mwai Kibaki’s administration. However, the real impetus came in the aftermath of the 2007–2008 post-election violence.

The Commission of Inquiry into Post-Election Violence (Cipev), also known as the Waki Commission, squarely blamed the police for brutality and the excessive use of force.

In its report, released on October 15, 2008, the Commission documented 1,133 deaths, 3,561 injuries and 117,216 incidents of property destruction. Notably, 405 of the deaths were attributed to gunshot wounds — a grim indicator of police involvement.

The Commission called for far-reaching reforms to address systemic issues including high-handedness, rights violations, excessive force, and a dysfunctional chain of command.

Fast forward to 2025, the same structural rot that the reforms sought to cure has reared its head in the case of Ojwang’. The teacher-turned-blogger reportedly bore the brunt of unchecked police brutality. The officers involved in his death appear to have exploited a still-broken command structure.

The reforms aimed to transform the police into a professional, accountable, and community-focused service. Although piecemeal constitutional changes and institutional restructuring has been done, police image remain tainted due to rampant brutality, lack of accountability and corruption.

Dr Fredrick Otieno, an adjunct lecturer of criminal justice and security management at Africa Nazarene University, traces collapse of reforms to mutilation of the National Police Service Act, 2011, which apart from providing provisions for oversight and accountability, established the framework for a more independent Police Service. In place, the Security Laws (Amendment) Act, 2014, was enacted, effectively bringing various changes to the National Police Service Act 2011.

“The reforms journey was deliberately crippled through the Security Laws (Amendment) Act 2014, yet the initial National Police Service Act, had good provisions to steer reforms. The amendments were a creation of the executive that does not want an independent police,” observed Dr Otieno who is a senior member of Professional Criminologists Association of Kenya.

It, therefore, came as no surprise when Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen admitted that meaningful reforms have failed, and that the Justice (Rtd) Johnann Kreigler recommendations remain unfulfilled.

Kriegler Commission, which was officially known as the Independent Review Commission (IREC) was established to inquire into the disputed 2007 General elections with particular emphasis on the presidential results.

“The Kreiglar Report laid a foundation towards police reforms in Kenya. Unfortunately, despite these well-intentioned framework and constitutional backing, meaningful reforms have stalled. Key challenges such as the limited operational independence, inadequate resourcing, and increasing cases of police brutality and impunity have reversed much of the initial gain,” said the CS.

Murkomen’s admission comes in the backdrop of a revived push to fast-track some of the reforms through the National Steering Committee, which was launched last year by Dr Kithure Kindiki.

The committee’s main objective is to ensure the effective implementation of reforms aimed at improving the welfare, efficiency, and service delivery – overlooking other underlying issues like officer’s conduct, training and professionalism, which have been cited as contributing to brutality, violation of human rights and use of excess force.

The reforms revolved around three pillars: restructuring of the two police services (Kenya Police Service and Administration Police Service); decentralising the police services; and enhancing police transparency and accountability.

Under restructuring, the Kenya Police and Administration Police were merged to create National Police Service under the leadership of Inspector General of Police (IG) who is supposed to co-ordinate and oversee operations.

George Musamali, a security analyst and former police officer, says the office of IG is not independent after its powers were whittled down through the Security Laws (Amendment) Act, 2014. Apart from removing a fixed term for the IG, allowing the holder to serve for unspecified periods, it gave the President powers to appoint, and even fire the IG.

“You cannot be in command of the Service when you are answerable to the Executive (President),” stated Musamali.

The framers of the new Constitution merged Kenya Police and Administration Police under one command after it emerged that during the post-election violence, commanders of the two Service were taking orders from parallel quarters.

In spite of the two Services having been merged but under the leadership of Deputy Inspector General, command challenges persist.

On decentralisation, the Service has been granted financial independence, which was expected to ensure operational autonomy as well as reducing potential political interference.

The third pillar was to address police transparency and accountability. Consequently, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (Ipoa) and Internal Affairs Unit (IAU) were created to investigate and deal with officers’ misconduct besides enhancing professionalism.

Under this pillar, the National Police Service Commission was another reform agenda, which took charge of the human resource function entailing recruitment, appointment, transfer, promotion and discipline of officers.

According to Suba Churchill, Executive Director, Kenya National Civil Society Centre, Ipoa and all independent Commissions have become appendages of the Executive that appoints heads of these institutions who are politically-correct.

He describes Ipoa a pale shadow of its former self, having lost the teeth to bite. “Initially, Ipoa like other constitutional Commissions, started off well. However, we have seen these institutions increasingly turned into recycling bins where individuals who have served in other positions are dumped,” said Suba.

He attributes failed police reforms to lack of political goodwill.