LETTERS: Tame rogue officers with stiffer penalties

Many police-reform pundits, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority(IPOA), the Directorate of Public Prosecutions and the Judiciary have been instrumental in ensuring that public complaints against officers are thoroughly and independently investigated to determine culpability that lead to a successful conviction and possible subsequent disciplining of the police officers.

This intimates the value and need to hold every single officer accountable for his/her actions. In the same breath defenders of police actions, in the past had the leeway to maintain claims that officers ‘did nothing wrong’.

However, this notion has been overturned overtime due to independent investigations. These state offices continue to sanitize their operations by upholding integrity, transparency and fairness in dispensing justice as enshrined in their respective mandates.

The overreliance on local prosecutors, who in the past practiced an inherent conflict of interest in indicting and prosecuting police officers accused of perpetrating serious misconduct that sometimes led to the injuries and deaths of innocent civilians. This has earned these public institutions the confidence of the public, by conducting independent investigations, proving culpability more so on police misconduct and violations of human rights.

Court convictions of suspect officers as documented, have met desirable evidential thresholds, enough to send errant officers behind bars. To this, Kenyans must give credit. Officers of the law who break the law and violate public trust should be held accountable for their actions.

However, sending killer cops to jail undoubtedly produces a kind of short-term anaesthesia for the many victims of police misconduct and those that support them.

It may produce some sense of much needed justice for the families and friends of victims. With judicial inquests in cases of Baby Samantha Pendo, Stephanie Moraa, and student leader Evans Njoroge and hundreds of victims who go without mention, will see more officers indicted of police instigated killings.

An admission of guilt, as part of a plea deal—the most likely outcome—rarely involves a full public accounting of facts. Perhaps as a country we need to consider the values of alternative approach.

One that holds officers accountable but works to serve the interests of the public and victims more fully and in the process produce a much fuller public accounting of the actions and mindsets of the police officers involved, this is in addition to public reports on some of this incidents.

Rather than relying on punishment and deterrence to provide justice and motivate behavior, restorative justice approach may attempt to involve victims, offenders, and communities in producing outcomes that benefit everyone involved as much as possible.

In restorative justice, offenders are expected to fully account for their behaviors in dialogue with the individual, the oversight and communities affected by their actions.

Victims and communities must be willing to engage in this process as well, by agreeing to seek a restorative solution.

A public accounting of why accused officers did what they did could be of immense value to the public and help with the healing of families and friends whose agony were caused as a result of gross police misconduct and/or actions.

Perhaps as a country we would learn more about the nature of police culture and why it so frequently treats members of the public with such brutal force.

Heartfelt accounts from actual police officers about the callousness of their actions and attitudes might lead to some real soul searching on the part of police officers, political leaders, and the public about the caustic nature of much of police culture as well as possible solutions.

In return, the officers would be compelled to take actions to try to repair some of the harms they have caused to the victim’s families and the public.

There is no way to know for certain how such a process would play out. The interests of the families and the public would have to be satisfied, and officers would have to genuinely engage in the process.

Nyasani Mbaka, Nairobi.