Police Force Rivalry

As the current struggle and sibling rivalry between Regular and Administration Police unfolds, the contrast between the two forces is glaring and it seems that public perception favours the APs. The Administration Police are a shining example of what reforms can do. Go out and test run their efficacy today. I recently met a District AP Commander in one of the more volatile districts and was impressed by his confidence and articulation of the Force’s vision and mission. Every District commander is trained out of the country at least once a year. When funds are disintegrated, the portion that goes to Regular Police can hardly be seen to achieve anything, whereas the APs have provided housing to the districts, vehicles, Mobile spikes in every vehicle, procured the anti-riot kit that made its public debut during the 2008 clashes and was known as the robots, created a Rapid Deployment Unit (RDU), faithfully implement their strategic plan annually, they also hold an Annual General Meeting in which all seniors from districts and HQ congregate in Mombasa for a number of days and bond, review performance and get inspired by motivational and technical talks from NSIS, American Embassy, etc.

The boys in blue n the other hand are accused of ignoring security which is their core business and focusing almost all their energies on traffic. It is obvious that traffic management pays good and regular bribes and it seems like the whole force is now focused on controlling traffic, harassing truck and matatu owners. A small unit in the Ministry of Transport should be created to deal with such issues. A Metropolitan force in Nairobi can combine what the traffic police do now with a bit of the inspection role played by City askaris. Do you ever wonder why we invest so much in traffic lights and never give them a chance? I want to imagine that cops have a vested interest and won’t allow us to use such lights. They reap more when we all get chaotic during the rush hours!

It is not all rosy in the AP force though, there are down sides too, for instance, the force lacks prosecutorial powers and must pass through their blue adorned colleagues, there exists a conflict with their Provincial Administration superiors who liberally use the force for political ends at the behest of politicians.

When all is said and done though, the country needs a unified police force made up of specialist units and not two rival forces trying hard to outshine and embarrass each other and win the public’s hearts with largely empty publicity gimmicks and theatrics.

While at it, shouldn’t the current so called reforms be considering the need to create a Metropolitan Police Force for Nairobi City?