America is smack in the middle of a thick ‘fuck the police’ period. To be fair, the man in blue killed another ON CAMERA, and still lives, thanks to the privilege that skin warrants. This spark set fire to the country literally, with men, women and children taking to the streets to protest the fact that the system that should protect all leans a lot to those with the privilege of lighter skin while continuously squashing our melanin kin like bugs.
The situation is very similar in my country. While bias towards white people exists, it is towards the heavy pocketed that it anchors on. The Kenya Police’s motto is ‘Utumishi Kwa Wote’, directly translating to “Service to All”. Like any decent African Home, this is an experience reserved for the guests. Inhouse, only the children know how bad it actually is. These days, it almost as if all prime time news are dotted with mothers left childless and widows left to fend for their families on their own. During the post-election violence, the ugly tribalism monster came out to play in all its brutal glory. Naturally, the ones united legally by a uniform and purpose to serve and protect would be expected to counter the monster, right? Wrong!! Their bright uniforms could not hide the ugliness that was unleashed on the very citizens that expected aid from an already burning country. I mean, they swore to do that. Cases of rape among women and young girls were reported in many areas of the country.
The history of the police force in my country goes back to 1902, during the colonial era when the white man selected a few black men from the pools of pre-existing village elders to help them enforce the colonial rules onto the citizens. Since they could not do this on their own, they enlisted a set of select bullies to act as the muscle where democracy failed. 118 years later, have the bullies changed their nature? Small changes in what is considered the “normal” world always seem to expose the ugly underbelly of the Kenyan police force. Covid-19 brought the country down into a 7 pm to 5 am curfew, in a bid to manage the spread of the virus. As I write this, the current infection numbers are 2. 093, with 71 victims succumbing to the virus. During the same period, police brutality has claimed 15 lives and caused injury to 31 more. Videos are circulating online, depicting members of the force breaking and looting businesses and homes.
There is even a case where they extorted money from a man after beating him. In a country that is 90% dependent on public transport, it is inevitable that 7 pm finds all 50+Million of us indoors. Even with the past curfew letter, we have seen cases where the police don’t give two shits about the situation that has you out at ten in the night, even if it involves a journey to lay your dead wife to rest. Low income earning areas like slums get the absolute heat of these guys. Running battles, missing people, suspicion from rocking dreadlocks. being poor are just some of the reasons you could find yourself at the wrong end of the gun. Let us not even begin on their extortion hierarchy, a fire that is heavily fuelled by public service vehicles. Generally, there is a decent pot of hatred that is ever stewing, fuelled by constant acts of violence towards people because they cannot buy justice. It is probably why a picture of a policeman helping an old woman cross the road becomes Twitter gold.
On the other hand, for people tasked with such an amount of responsibility, they receive a shitty end of the bargain. A standard Administration Police receives Ksh 40,000 in salary, allowances included. Their living situation is shuffling between tin sheds and small houses. Scandals involving their houses, reduction in salaries have been rocking the media for ages. The police face their nightmares. Unaccounted attacks that leave their counterparts dead, maimed and psychologically scarred for life. The police face poor working conditions, lack of resources and adequate crime-fighting equipment. I mean, it must be hard, the public expecting you to find a phone thief with the accuracy of an episode of CSI when you can barely find your own way home.
Seeing and experiencing things that maim your sense and aspect of humanity with practically non-existent psychological resources to help you cope with the nightmares that you live in daily. This could be probably why men of the force react so violently to civil issues such as infidelity. At work, it probably means wearing a uniform that is supposed to be a symbol of uniformity and equality but instead only works to show the disparity between the ranks. Utumishi kwa wote except those in a lower rank. The cherry on top of the struggle, opinions on how to do your work rendered by anyone with the police training of two seasons of Quantico and a Twitter/Facebook account. If you get bullied enough, you probably just pass it on. A teenie weenie sense of power makes some of the men and women in blue get a sense of superiority.
Where is the line between policing and terrorizing? If you remove bias on the basis of gender, social class and race, does the line even exist?
How fucked up do you have to be to get together, gang rape a woman and have none of the policemen feel bad about the entire situation? How is okay to crush a man’s balls for wearing a mask wrong when you do not even have one on yourself? Does a shit life warrant expressing violence on innocent civilians? It is a never-ending cycle of abuse that occurs when the very person supposed to protect you ends up being the one causing you endless terror.
I mean, I would like to have the same faith in the police force that kids have in the Avengers…okay, that’s a little far fetched. Let’s say in Sherlock Holmes. It might be a long way coming, but I hope we could achieve that someday.
The question America is asking at the moment is one that I think most third world countries have been asking for ages. How do you change an institution that was created to oppress its people in the first place?
