The Achilles’ Heel of Police Reforms in Kenya

Douglas Lucas Kivoi; Casty Gatakaa Mbae

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ss.20130206.13

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The Achilles’ Heel of Police Reforms in Kenya

Douglas Lucas Kivoi, Casty Gatakaa Mbae

Published in Social Sciences (Volume 2, Issue 6)

Received: 6 September 2013 Accepted: Published: 20 October 2013

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Abstract

The genesis of policing in Kenya dates back to the pre-independence times. After independence, the constitution at that time had provisions for the establishment of a neutral police service. However that was just on paper because political leaders turned the police service into a political tool for suppressing and/or repressing political opponents, real or imagined. Thus the police impunity that was there during the colonial era was never eliminated from the service after Kenya got independence. Fifty years later, Kenya is still struggling with reforming its National Police Service which is fettered in many challenges among them corruption within its ranks, extra-judicial killings, limited and/or lack of professionalism, poor housing, lack of modern crime fighting equipments among numerous other challenges. The constitution promulgated in 2010 made demands for structural and welfare reforms to be carried out in the National Police Service. It is worth noting that the reforms anticipated in the police service are now way behind schedule. The culture of impunity in the police service has contributed to too many cases of insecurity, gross violation of human rights, mistrust by citizens and derailment of key achievements in democratic governance. It is thus evident that an overhaul of Kenya’s police service is critical. This paper addresses some of the key challenges facing the National Police Service and gives some policy recommendations.

Published in	Social Sciences (Volume 2, Issue 6)
DOI	10.11648/j.ss.20130206.13
Page(s)	189-194
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Crime, Impunity, Mistrust, Police Service, Policing, Structural Reforms, Welfare Reforms

References

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Douglas Lucas Kivoi, Casty Gatakaa Mbae. (2013). The Achilles’ Heel of Police Reforms in Kenya. Social Sciences, 2(6), 189-194. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20130206.13

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Douglas Lucas Kivoi; Casty Gatakaa Mbae. The Achilles’ Heel of Police Reforms in Kenya. Soc. Sci. 2013, 2(6), 189-194. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20130206.13

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Douglas Lucas Kivoi, Casty Gatakaa Mbae. The Achilles’ Heel of Police Reforms in Kenya. Soc Sci. 2013;2(6):189-194. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20130206.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ss.20130206.13,
  author = {Douglas Lucas Kivoi and Casty Gatakaa Mbae},
  title = {The Achilles’ Heel of Police Reforms in Kenya},
  journal = {Social Sciences},
  volume = {2},
  number = {6},
  pages = {189-194},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ss.20130206.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20130206.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ss.20130206.13},
  abstract = {The genesis of policing in Kenya dates back to the pre-independence times. After independence, the constitution at that time had provisions for the establishment of a neutral police service. However that was just on paper because political leaders turned the police service into a political tool for suppressing and/or repressing political opponents, real or imagined. Thus the police impunity that was there during the colonial era was never eliminated from the service after Kenya got independence. Fifty years later, Kenya is still struggling with reforming its National Police Service which is fettered in many challenges among them corruption within its ranks, extra-judicial killings, limited and/or lack of professionalism, poor housing, lack of modern crime fighting equipments among numerous other challenges. The constitution promulgated in 2010 made demands for structural and welfare reforms to be carried out in the National Police Service. It is worth noting that the reforms anticipated in the police service are now way behind schedule. The culture of impunity in the police service has contributed to too many cases of insecurity, gross violation of human rights, mistrust by citizens and derailment of key achievements in democratic governance. It is thus evident that an overhaul of Kenya’s police service is critical. This paper addresses some of the key challenges facing the National Police Service and gives some policy recommendations.},
 year = {2013}
}

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TY - JOUR
T1 - The Achilles’ Heel of Police Reforms in Kenya
AU - Douglas Lucas Kivoi
AU - Casty Gatakaa Mbae
Y1 - 2013/10/20
PY - 2013
N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20130206.13
DO - 10.11648/j.ss.20130206.13
T2 - Social Sciences
JF - Social Sciences
JO - Social Sciences
SP - 189
EP - 194
PB - Science Publishing Group
SN - 2326-988X
UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20130206.13
AB - The genesis of policing in Kenya dates back to the pre-independence times. After independence, the constitution at that time had provisions for the establishment of a neutral police service. However that was just on paper because political leaders turned the police service into a political tool for suppressing and/or repressing political opponents, real or imagined. Thus the police impunity that was there during the colonial era was never eliminated from the service after Kenya got independence. Fifty years later, Kenya is still struggling with reforming its National Police Service which is fettered in many challenges among them corruption within its ranks, extra-judicial killings, limited and/or lack of professionalism, poor housing, lack of modern crime fighting equipments among numerous other challenges. The constitution promulgated in 2010 made demands for structural and welfare reforms to be carried out in the National Police Service. It is worth noting that the reforms anticipated in the police service are now way behind schedule. The culture of impunity in the police service has contributed to too many cases of insecurity, gross violation of human rights, mistrust by citizens and derailment of key achievements in democratic governance. It is thus evident that an overhaul of Kenya’s police service is critical. This paper addresses some of the key challenges facing the National Police Service and gives some policy recommendations.
VL - 2
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Author Information

Douglas Lucas Kivoi

Policy Analyst, Kenya Institute for Public Policy and Research Analysis (KIPPRA), Nairobi, Kenya
Casty Gatakaa Mbae

Policy Analyst, Kenya Institute for Public Policy and Research Analysis (KIPPRA), Nairobi, Kenya

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Douglas Lucas Kivoi, Casty Gatakaa Mbae. (2013). The Achilles’ Heel of Police Reforms in Kenya. Social Sciences, 2(6), 189-194. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20130206.13

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ACS Style

Douglas Lucas Kivoi; Casty Gatakaa Mbae. The Achilles’ Heel of Police Reforms in Kenya. Soc. Sci. 2013, 2(6), 189-194. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20130206.13

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AMA Style

Douglas Lucas Kivoi, Casty Gatakaa Mbae. The Achilles’ Heel of Police Reforms in Kenya. Soc Sci. 2013;2(6):189-194. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20130206.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ss.20130206.13,
  author = {Douglas Lucas Kivoi and Casty Gatakaa Mbae},
  title = {The Achilles’ Heel of Police Reforms in Kenya},
  journal = {Social Sciences},
  volume = {2},
  number = {6},
  pages = {189-194},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ss.20130206.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20130206.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ss.20130206.13},
  abstract = {The genesis of policing in Kenya dates back to the pre-independence times. After independence, the constitution at that time had provisions for the establishment of a neutral police service. However that was just on paper because political leaders turned the police service into a political tool for suppressing and/or repressing political opponents, real or imagined. Thus the police impunity that was there during the colonial era was never eliminated from the service after Kenya got independence. Fifty years later, Kenya is still struggling with reforming its National Police Service which is fettered in many challenges among them corruption within its ranks, extra-judicial killings, limited and/or lack of professionalism, poor housing, lack of modern crime fighting equipments among numerous other challenges. The constitution promulgated in 2010 made demands for structural and welfare reforms to be carried out in the National Police Service. It is worth noting that the reforms anticipated in the police service are now way behind schedule. The culture of impunity in the police service has contributed to too many cases of insecurity, gross violation of human rights, mistrust by citizens and derailment of key achievements in democratic governance. It is thus evident that an overhaul of Kenya’s police service is critical. This paper addresses some of the key challenges facing the National Police Service and gives some policy recommendations.},
 year = {2013}
}

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