The commitment by Interior CS Dr Fred Matiang’i to act on the utterly shocking brutality by the police witnessed in JKUAT is welcome.
We must however note that this isn’t an isolated case, neither is it the first; many students and youth across the country still nurse life-long injuries and countless lives have been lost due to the high handedness of some law enforcers.
If the police service is to be accepted as a reformed service and not a rogue force, if Kenyan taxpayers are to get value for the millions pumped into police reforms and if such projects as community policing are to bear fruit, then it will take more than just punishing the few who meted violence on JKUAT students.
It must be remembered that early this year, student leaders across the country under my patronage presented a petition to the National Assembly over the same and several rights’ groups have also sought the government’s intervention on the same matter of police brutality.
Should students and Kenyans be okay with quick fixes to recurring problems or permanent solutions that encompass behaviour change?
Over to you CS Matiang’i, IG Mutyambai and IPOA
Agnes Kagure
Educationist & Mentor
