We are docile, not idiots.

Tell me you don't really feel sorry for the forces of law and order in Kenya. Whether it is true or not, the spectre of journos gleefully reporting that an "amoured" vehicle that is "part of the Presidential Escort" was carjacked simply reinforces what we have come to consider to be a crisis. Three armed men allegedly carjacked the driver of an armoured BMW, stripped him naked, drove off with the vehicle, and they are yet to be apprehended. Were they bearing .50 calibre armour-piercing rounds when they took off with the President's Beemer? Did they deploy a Russian-built BTR 80 with a 50mm cannon? Were they packing Claymore mines?

The emphasis in Kenya has always been on "security". In security-based scenarios, emphases are on uniformed, armed men on the streets, armed with the largest assault rifles that they can comfortably bear; the application of extreme coercive force to threats to that security; the obsession with the safety of "sensitive" persons and installations; the whittling down of the privileges enjoyed by the people; the constant monitoring of the people for any whiff of "treason" or "sedition"; and the permanent official denial of facts that do not comport with the "we-are-secure" narrative that is the foundation of the system.

This is how it has always been. Special Branch was the most dreaded security organ of the Government of Kenya. It was the President's preferred weapon of retribution against his enemies, imagined and real. It developed a fearsome reputation of infiltrating families, welfare associations, churches, women's merry-go-rounds, co-operative societies and land-buying companies. It was responsible for deaths and disappearances; tactics, the Establishment believed, necessary to remind the people that mkono wa serikali ni mrefu. It was succeeded by what essentially became death squads; unofficial and unacknowledged, they have waged a war against "security threats" using tactics and methods so far from the Constitution and the laws of Kenya, even the United Nations has taken note. Yet security continues to elude the Establishment now that even presidential armoured limousines are being "carjacked."

A few days ago, somewhere in Kwale, in the dead of night, policemen shot and killed a fourteen year old girl. The Inspector-General ordered an investigation into the actions of his officers. he sent the report off to the Director of Public Prosecutions. His officers alleged that the girl attacked the eight policemen who raided her home with a machete. They fired in self-defence, they claim. Kwale is not known for a steady or reliable supply of electricity. Maweu village, where the girl was killed, is not connected to the electricity grid. The family home was unlit on that fateful night. While it is possible, no one believes that then girl was sleeping with a panga under her pillow, and it is patently foolish to insist that when the doors to their home were kicked in, and the police rushed in eight-strong shouting and flashing bright lights in the faces of the residents, that the girl had the presence of mind to reach for a panga and charge at eight armed policemen. We are docile; we are not fucking idiots.

Our emphasis has always been about security; it has never been about the safety of the people. It is why pedestrian walkways are an afterthought after the road tender has been awarded. It is why street lights do not function, or drains are kept in serviceable order. It is why policemen still carry military-style assault-rifles, and not sidearms. It is why the first instinct of armed police is, to paraphrase what the Inspector-general exhorted his policemen to do, use their weapons as they were meant to be used and only then worry about the aftermath. It is why fourteen-year old girls are likely to be shot dead and presidential armoured limousines are "carjacked". In maintaining security, the people are part of the problem. The British taught us that. They taught us well.