Police urged to uphold rule of law, human rights

The National Police Service has stepped up efforts to strengthen accountability among its officers, with senior commanders urging them to uphold the rule of law and respect human rights while carrying out their duties.

Nyanza Regional Police Commander Nyamohanga Gisiri said security agencies had a responsibility to protect the public while ensuring their actions complied with the law.

“As a security entity or agency, we are mandated to observe the rule of law and adhere to human rights,” Gisiri said in Kisumu.

She urged officers to ensure their conduct remained within the law as they carried out their mandate.

“My advice to my fellow police officers is, let us observe law as we execute our mandate as the police agencies in the country,” she said.

Gisiri was speaking during a workshop organised by the Internal Affairs Unit that brought together officers from the Kenya Police Service, Administration Police Service and Directorate of Criminal Investigations.

Barasa Sayia, deputy director of the Internal Affairs Unit and convener of the workshop, said the meeting was intended to raise awareness among officers, share information and give personnel an opportunity to raise issues affecting their work.

“We are here for the purpose of, first, to create awareness amongst our officers who work within the National Police Service,” Sayia said.

The workshop brought together representatives from police oversight and complaints units, including the Internal Affairs Unit, the Complaints and Court Assurance Directorate of the Administration Police Service.

The Complaints Assurance Directorate of the Kenya Police Service and the Directorate of Complaints and Public Complaints within the DCI were also present.

Sayia said participants would take information from the workshop back to officers working in the field.

“They are just representatives or ambassadors of the many who are still in the field, actively involved in various police duties,” he said.

He said the workshop would also produce a report for senior commanders, with the aim of improving working relations and accountability within the police service.

The Internal Affairs Unit handles complaints arising from police duties, Sayia said, adding that allegations against officers had to be investigated and supported by evidence before disciplinary action was taken.

“We know that we are human. And at times, as a police officer is carrying out a duty, a member of the public or even a fellow officer may not feel okay with what the officer has done. Hence, giving rise now to the complaint,” he said.

“Normally, there are allegations. And allegations need to be proven.”

Sayia said substantiated complaints were handled through due process, while allegations that were not supported by facts would not result in action against an officer.

He said police officers received an initial nine months of training and returned to their respective training institutions for further training.

“Officers equally go back to their various training institutions for more training,” he said, adding that the training included how to respond to situations requiring police intervention.

The workshop also covered how police officers could use the Internal Affairs Unit to report complaints against colleagues or senior officers.

Sayia said the unit accepted complaints from both police officers and civilians through several channels, including its offices and email.

He said most of the unit’s activities had been digitised through the Complaints Management Information System, allowing complainants to submit complaints online and receive acknowledgement that they had been received.

Some complaints involved cases that had initially been reported at police stations but had taken time to be addressed or resolved, prompting complainants to seek the intervention of the Internal Affairs Unit, he said.

Sayia said junior officers were also entitled to lodge complaints against senior officers regardless of rank.

“It’s within their right to complain against their seniors. It’s within their right,” he said.

He said the unit’s policy did not prevent investigations based on the rank of an officer facing a complaint, although some administrative matters could be referred to commanders for resolution.

On security in Nyanza, Gisiri said the region was generally calm despite isolated incidents involving criminal elements.

“Generally, things are calm,” she said, adding that police were continuing efforts to tackle crime and protect residents.

Gisiri also urged members of the public to share information with police, saying officers could not be everywhere because of the size of the population they serve.

“Police are not all over,” she said, adding that information from residents was important in guiding police operations.

She encouraged residents to use community policing forums, Nyumba Kumi structures, elders and local administrators to share information with security agencies, particularly when they were reluctant to approach police directly.