Privileged extremists

“It is important to note that we are still under threat of terrorism and all vehicles, whether GK or parastatals, must go through a thorough search at points of entry into offices, buildings and malls.”

This apparently a directive by the Inspector-General of Police. It is notable for the unspoken observation: government vehicles are not trusted, least of all by the National Police, in the fight against terrorism. I want you to consider that non-admission. When Kenyan soldiers are deployed in theatre, the points of entry into Kenya remain on high alert, the people are on tenterhooks about the next calamity, and the President, for the umpteenth time, declares that "security begins with you and me," the integrity of the public officers with access to government vehicles cannot be guaranteed. This is the admission of the National Police Service and, presumably, of the national Executive.

It isn't that strange that this non-admission is now being made. The national security apparatus has not covered itself in glory since the day Uhuru Kenyatta was sworn in as Kenya's fourth president. First there was that bizarre incident with the presidential limo that was, or was not, part of the presidential motorcade. Then there was the devastating Westgate siege that exposed the Kenya Defence Forces as a lootocracy. Then there were the twin Lamu attacks and twin Mandera attacks that exposed the paucity of actionable intelligence. Then there was the Garissa University College massacre that exposed the National Police to ridicule because the seniormost police pilots had a tendency to use police aircraft for personal jaunts to Mombasa (for which, by the by, no one has been sacked).

These are but the most egregious. Remember that Pangani traffic policeman who engaged in a common traffic police habit of effectively hijacking motorists to police stations and extorting money from them before "releasing" the cars and their owners? Turned out that he had hijacked a couple of jihadists who detonated their cor bomb in the entrance to the Pangani Police Station. How about that other massive car bomb that remained parked at a police station for a week before it was "detected?" We will never know who its intended target was. Then there are the farcical reports of police lorries being used to ferry, variously, poached sandalwood or undocumented Ethiopians, passing through check-points without any query. Inspector-General Boinnet is right to suspect all government vehicles.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that those with access to certain government-financed privileges have a habit of abusing the privileges. This is not just limited to the minions on their masters' service; a broad swathe of members of the 48 legislative bodies and judiciary abuse the privileges granted them by the peoples of Kenya. Some have taken this abuse to extremes and it seems that the Inspector-General is now alive to the risks posed by these privileged mandarins and apparats. I wonder if his Commander-in-Chief appreciates the enormity of this admission.