By Frank Bray
Every country thrives when there is law and order. And in many cases, it’s the police who are tasked with the role of keeping it. However, mistreatment by police has become the norm, and whereas tyranny and intimidation tactics are applicable in certain scenarios, they are currently applied indiscriminately by a significant portion of the police force.. As a matter of fact, for many now, even reporting a crime feels like a crime.
For example, I recently found myself in Kitale for a gig that turned sour quickly, leading to a verbal exchange, and we ended up seeking justice at a police station.. The gig’s marketer was doing everything possible to avoid paying, including daring us to assault his aide, then go for payment at the Kitale police station..
Taking him up on his challenge, we hauled his aide into our vehicle and drove there, confident we were the ones wronged. Meanwhile, his guy kept yelling. Shaking, yes, out of fear of our rage, but yelling nevertheless that he wasn’t afraid of us.
“Let’s go to the station and see who wins this case,” he’d said.
That tightened my stomach. The smell of ‘Kujuana.’ We found our marketer at the station. His aide got down.
“These guys have beaten me. I have a witness.” He was referring to his girlfriend, who’d been with us all along. I smirked. I’d been there the whole time and nobody had touched him in the manner he was insinuating.
We’d found a group of cops getting ready to go out on patrol. The commotion and unease caught their attention. They got involved. Fortunately. But not as straightforwardly as I’d have wished.
“Punguzeni kelele. Ama tuwaweke ndani wote!” I heard one say. It was reasonable. But disarming.
“Hapana. Acha wadiscuss,” another interjected. The rest of the interaction was a mixture of both possibilities.
It was a scary rollercoaster for me. I wanted this to end quick. I swear, had it not been a group thing, I’d have accepted my losses, found my way out of there, and left justice to itself.
“Tuweke wote ndani,” another officer repeated midway through the dispute.
“Hapana afande. Huyu jamaa amezoea kufanyia wasanii hivi. This is not the first time. Leo tena ni group ingine!… Ati ameabductiwa. Kwani unaabductiwa kila siku? Once is enough. But twice!” a colleague interjected.
“Haya. Wacheni leader wenyu na huyu waende ndani wadiscuss, nyinyi wengine tulieni kwa gari.”
The discussion ended at half past one. Verdict! We didn’t get to know extensively, just that they’d come to an agreement.
It was late when we drove back to Eldoret. Our “leaders” revealed that they allegedly had to part with a portion of the settlements to appease the attending cops.
This brings us back to where we began. Recently, I asked a friend of mine about his experience with a police station, and instinctively he said, “Bana! Hao wasee hua wanakuintimidate ata unajutia kuenda kureport.”
I believe there is a need to address this issue. As insignificant as it may seem to some, it is a weighty factor affecting the acquisition of justice by wronged individuals. For example, the International Justice Mission (IJM) report found that 42.9% of Kenyans surveyed between March 2022 and March 2024 reported experiencing police abuse of power, both verbally and through intimidation.
And that is just a chunk of the iceberg. According to The Star (G. Orsen, 11 Sept 2025), only 14.3% of survey participants reported confidence in the criminal justice system to protect victims of police abuse.
Meanwhile, IPOA’s five-year summary states that they have processed over 20,000 complaints about the police, many of which relate to intimidation, harassment, and other misconduct.
And while complaints and citations of unreported injustice cases are a thing, it may be partly for fear of the emotional hurdles involved and social intelligence required to deal with the police service as it is.
Who knows? You might report a crime or misconduct in the ‘wrong’ way and end up as the defendant in your own case. That’s a real fear. A fear many have felt dealing with a unit that is essential yet tainted by public intimidation, corruption, and even selective fairness.
So what next? What’s the way forward? Actually, there’s an absolute need for reform, PR training, and trust-building to be initiated, especially on how police interact with civilians. Failure to do this means distrust continues, and injustices prevail.
