IG Japheth Koome's Deafening Silence Amid Rising Cases Of Police Brutality Raises Eyebrows

• The Inspector General of Police, Japheth Koome, faced criticism for not addressing police brutality despite public outcry
• Koome's silence has led to accusations that he is either indifferent or afraid to speak out against his officers
• The last time he spoke, he was replying to a letter by the opposition planning to take the police to ICC over brutal killings

Nairobi - The Inspector General of Police (IG), Japheth Koome, has been accused of remaining silent in the face of rising cases of police brutality in Kenya.

There have been several high-profile cases of police brutality worldwide, including the killing of George Floyd in the United States and the shooting of Eric Garner in New York City.

In Kenya, there have also been several cases of police brutality during the Azimio la Umoja anti-government protests.

Japheth Koome buried his head in the sand

Despite these cases and cries from Kenyans and interest groups, Koome has not spoken out against police brutality or taken any steps to address the issue.

A ruffle between police officers and demonstrators during the Raila Odinga-led three-day protests turned violent, leaving nine people dead across the country, with over 33 injured. Several others were arrested.

This has led to accusations that he is either indifferent to the problem or afraid to speak out against his officers.

Vocal Kenyans like the Executive Director for Amnesty International Kenya, Houghton Irungu, have argued that Koome's silence is a sign that he is not doing enough to hold police officers accountable for their actions.

"At this time, lead from the front as an independent office. You have to be in public, clarifying, providing guidance and essentially stating measures taken to keep people safe. The ostrich knows the dangers of burying his head in the sand," Irungu explained.

Speaking on NTV, Irungu said it was time for the inspector general of police to speak up and coordinate officers under his wing.

"At a time like this, silence is not a powerful way of providing leadership for the 100,000 police officers in the country. This silence is troubling, but the more troubling question is whether he has been silenced. There is word that senior government officials are directing police officers, and the commanders might fear contradicting the orders," he said

They have pointed out that there have been some cases where police officers have been accused of brutality, but they have not been brought to justice.

Last time Japheth Koome spoke

A spot check by TUKO.co.ke showed that Koome last spoke in public on April 26, responding to a letter by Azimio la Umoja.

The inspector general dismissed Azimio's letter to the International Criminal Court to investigate him for allegedly ordering attacks against Azimio supporters and leaders during the mass action protests.

"The Azimio letter does not intimidate us at all. Therefore, I would like to request members of the National Police Service not to be intimidated at all by threats to serve our country and good people," Koome said.

Speaking to Citizen TV, Koome termed the letter as propaganda and said the opposition's agenda was to try and intimidate police officers carrying out their duties of protecting lives and property.

Lawyer and Governance Expert Philip Mwangale opined that the police IG could have given specific orders to his boys and is sitting at the corner observing the flow.

"That the IG is quiet means he has given specific orders to have the demonstrators met with the kind of force we have seen. His time as Nairobi County Police Commander before the unceremonious redeployment is a testament to that. Kenya and the continent at large do not have a good policy and practice on handling unrest, demonstrations and pickets," Mwangale told TUKO.co.ke.

Mwangale explained that even though the police boss has independent command over the service as underpinned in the constitution, there are chances that there are express orders as far as from the Office of the President.

"The Command of the Service comes from above the head of the IG. The Constitution in Article 245 provides that the IG shall exercise independent command over the service. It is possible that as has happened in the past, instructions, Orders and Commands have come from as high as the Office of the President through the CS Interior and relayed through the PS Interior. This is completely unconstitutional," he claimed.

A communication breakdown

Speaking in an exclusive interview with TUKO.co.ke, Secretary Political Affairs KANU and Azimio la Umoja Spokesperson Fredrick Okango observed that Koome's absence and silence have been deafening.

"There is established the office of the Inspector-General of the National Police Service, and in that constitutional office, one Koome is the holder. We have not seen much of him in the recent past, at a time when Kenyans have witnessed real police brutality against peaceful demonstrators. Scores have been injured and several dead, but not a single comment from Koome," Okango said.

Okango opined that communication gaps could exist within the country's security apparatus.

The Raila Odinga supporter said the IG is expected to come out and address complaints from Kenyans and state actions taken against officers who brutalised protesters.

"While the CS interior has been commenting, it leaves no doubt to the public that there could be a communication breakdown within the security docket and the office holders. We expect that Koome will come out and tell Kenyans what he is actually doing to deal with the rogue officers who participated in the use of brutal force against the protesters," he explained.

He said the Inspector-General of Police took an oath of office to execute his duties; to that extent, he must live by it.

Boniface Mwangi calls for resignation of IG Japheth Koome

Human rights activist Boniface Mwangi called for the resignation of the Inspector General of Police over alleged police brutality during protests.

During an interview on Citizen TV, Mwangi regretted that, as a country, we never hold police officers accountable for their illegal actions.

“I think the problem is we never hold the police accountable for their actions; the last four weeks have been a mess, there have been a lot of murders by the State and I think the officers involved should be held accountable,” Mwangi said.

According to the activist, many innocent Kenyans were killed during the anti-government demonstrations under the watch of the police.