Lawless police attacking each other

The incident in which a group of 24 Administration Police (AP) officers raided a police roadblock on Lang’ata Road on Saturday to free one of their bosses, who had been arrested by regular police for drunk driving leaves a lot to be desired.

The armed APs are reported to have stormed the road block, cocked their guns and ordered the release of their boss, a chief inspector, who was being detained after failing the Alco blow test.

According to one of the police officers who was manning the roadblock, three Administration Police Land Cruisers arrived at the scene with armed AP officers who were in full uniform, 30 minutes after the inspector’s arrest.

“One of the Land Cruisers stopped next to the safety authority agency vehicle as the other two were parked at strategic locations,” the officer said.

The regular police and officials from the National Traffic and Safety Authority (NTSA) had no choice but to give in to the demands of the APS.

The director of National Road Safety, Mr Matthew Munyao, said that the APs outnumbered the police manning the roadblock hence they had no choice but maintained that the matter had still been reported at the Muthaiga police station.

Transport Cabinet Secretary, Michael Kamau, re-introduced the use of alcoblow in Kenyan roads in December last year, in order to curb road carnage in the country.

Those found guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol attract a fine of KES 100,000 or a jail term of one year or both.

‘CARJACKING’: OUR CORRESPONDENT’S STORY

It is surely disgraceful for the APs to show up, right on time to illegally free their boss from custody, yet when crimes are committed to law abiding citizens, the same officers will never respond to distress calls on time.

Over, the weekend for instance, this Kenya Forum correspondent was carjacked and ironically dumped about 200 meters from a police station, where the gangsters who were armed with an AK forty seven and a pistol, also carjacked another car in the area and took off. A security guard in the area who witnessed the ordeal immediately set off the security alarms in the vicinity and made a call to the same police station, which went unanswered.

HIGH LEVELS OF CRIME IN NAIROBI’S SMART NEIGHBOURHOODS

The high levels of insecurity in the country are worrying and nowadays even Nairobi’s “posh” residences have not been spared either.

For the better part of this year, residents in Karen were a distressed lot, following rampant cases of crime in the area, where police didn’t seem keen enough to do much to control the situation.

In February this year, the Bangladesh High Commissioner to Kenya, Wahidur Rahman, was attacked by a gang of six men and robbed of cash and valuables at his residence in Karen at about 9pm. Rahman escaped unhurt but he was robbed of more than Sh170,000, a laptop, mobile phones, a TV set and other electronic goods.

About a week later, seven thugs armed with an AK-47 rifle and a pistol stole household goods worth Sh805, 000 from Dr. Saaio Mauro’s house in Miotoni Ridge in Karen. They also stole Sh9,000, $300 (Sh25,500) and €600 Euros (Sh70,800).

The same night, four thugs shot and critically injured a guard at Saminaa Mohammed’s home in Karen during a 1 am robbery incident. They stole Sh1,000, six mobile phones and jewellery.

The same month, Makueni MP Daniel Maanzo was attacked and robbed one Wednesday morning and injured at his residence in Hardy, Karen. The legislator was robbed of household goods and cash of unknown value.

Armed robbery has also been rampant recently in Runda, Kileleshwa and Nyari.

The forces (supposedly) of law and order in Kenya are seemingly out of control as instances of armed robbery also seems to be spiraling ever higher.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeCVun2t6P4