Gachagua urges police to serve Kenyans diligently, not harass them

The police should realize that Kenyans are their friends, and thus serve them in the right manner, according to Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.

Gachagua made the remarks on Friday, January 13, in Homa Bay, where he had accompanied President William Ruto for a tour of the Nyanza region.

He took the opportunity to reiterate the Ruto administration’s desire to oversee a change in the country’s security sector, in order to make it more people-centered.

“The president has told them (police) that we want them to change. They should know that citizens are their friends. Their work should be to protect citizens and not harass them,” The Deputy President said.

Gachagua also urged police officers to desist from taking brines while discharging their duties to the citizens, noting that the intended review of their salaries was meant to eradicate graft within the service.

“The president ordered changes within the National police Service. He appointed a taskforce to review issues like the salaries and earnings of police officers because they have suffered for long. But we have told them, and the president has been clear, if we increase their salaries and they get better pay, they should cease taking bribes,” he said.

Retired Chief Justice David Maraga was on January 9 sworn in as chairperson of a taskforce that will oversee reforms at the National Police Service and Kenya Prisons Service.

The task force is mandated to identify the constraints on effective service delivery by NPS and KPS. In his address on Friday, Gachagua also noted that President Ruto had himself been a victim of undesired police practices, and thus understood the need to improve service delivery by the National Police Service.