Introspection

Kenya media freedom goes up in smoke

Just after 12.30am on Thursday morning early in March, masked plain clothes police stormed the printing presses of a major East African daily newspaper, the Standard, disabling equipment, assaulting staff and lighting massive bonfires of Thursday's edition in the streets outside. Moments before, another police squad raided the city headquarters of the paper, and a sister television network, KTN-TV, was breached and pulled off air.

The previous weekend's Saturday edition of the Standard had carried a story relating to an alleged secret meeting between the Kenyan President, Mwai Kibaki, and opposition leader Kalonzo Musyoka. Musyoka was a Minister in Kibaki's government until he was sacked last year, in fall out following a failed Constitutional referendum. Media reported that the clandestine meeting was set up to discuss Musyoka rejoining the government. On the following Tuesday, three Standard journalists - the weekend managing editor, Chacha Mwita, the weekend news editor, Dennis Onyango and a reporter, Ayub Sayula - were arrested and taken into custody in connection with the report. They were charged with publishing a false rumour, and have been released on bail.

The raids are a particular shock in a country that has enjoyed a relatively free press, and the government has supported people's rights to freedom of expression. The disturbing response of Kenya's Internal Security Minister, John Michuki, to local and international condemnation of the raids, was, "If you rattle a snake, you must be prepared to be bitten by it." Kenya's membership of the Commonwealth is predicated on a promise to give its people a voice to express political agreement and dissent, as well as satisfaction and dissatisfaction. The Minister's statement was made without regard for Kenya's obligations as a member of the Commonwealth, or as a member of the African Union or the United Nations.

The raids reveal the concerning political influence over the police. In a democratic nation like Kenya, the police are put in place to protect and serve the community. The police do not exist to prop up a ruling regime using a mixture of violence, brutality and illegality. The police should be accountable to the community, and cushioned from the threat of illegitimate political interference by a range of transparent accountability measures. These measures are not in place in Kenya, allowing the government to use the police as a private security force, as was shown during the media shut down.

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Kenya won independence and internal self rule in 1963. The elected government, the Kenyan African National Union (KANU), headed by Jomo Kenyatta, inherited the colonial-style police force left behind by the departing British and a new Constitution based on the British experience of government. The Constitution established a system of accountability, including an independent judiciary, two houses of parliament and a Prime Minister. It also provided for a professional, neutral police service that would be set up by legislation and watched over by a Police Service Commission and a National Security Council. The Inspector General of Police would be appointed by the President on the advice of the Police Service Commission.

Kenya's first elected government quickly rejected the system imposed by the Constitution. Government Ministers pointed to the expense of the mechanisms and claimed that the African tradition of governance did not make room for shared power among a number of different leaders. By 1966, the system had been abolished in favour of a parliament made of the President and a National Assembly. By this time, police autonomy had already been removed, and the police had become an extension of the civil service. The Police Service Commission and National Security Council were never formed, and the President has always had total control over the appointment and dismissal of the Commissioner of Police, allowing him to directly influence the most senior members of the police force.

In 2002, fresh elections ended the almost forty-year reign of the KANU party. The new leaders, known as the National Rainbow Coalition, or NARC government, were elected on a platform of reform, transparency and democracy. The National Rainbow Coalition got off to a good start, setting up a police reforms task force, and appointing a pro-reform Commissioner. However, Kenya's high hopes for a new start have been disappointed, as evidence by the heavy handed anti-media tactics employed by the police at the behest of the government.

The Standard has reported that the raids were carried out by a notorious police unit known as the Kanga squad. The Kanga squad are an elite group situated within the Criminal Investigation Division (CID). The Standard reported that top level police officers, including the Police Commissioner, were not told about the operation, and that it was organised and run by the Internal Security Minister, the head of the CID, and a special advisor to the President, monitored over the telephone by three government Ministers. The Police Commissioner has distanced himself from the raids, issuing a statement on his return to Kenya from overseas travel, that he had not been aware of the raids. The Standard has reported that the Commissioner has had private meetings with both the President and the head of the public service, with a view to making structural changes to the police service in light of the misconduct.

Police accountability generally takes one of four forms of control. Each is as important as the others; together they form a web of checks and balances that allow the police to operate efficiently, legally and with the protection of the community as its main goal. The first is government control. The three limbs of government - the executive, the judiciary and the legislature - each have a role to play in police oversight. The second is independent external control, from an independent civilian body, such as an Ombudsman or Human Rights Commission or, ideally, a dedicated police authority, such as the Police Service Commission envisioned by the original Kenyan Constitution. The third is internal accountability; reliable disciplinary systems, training and supervision and systems for monitoring and evaluating performance. Finally, the police should be held accountable by the community, through civil society, media and individual voices. The huge response from each of these groups to the media raids show that at least community accountability has a voice in Kenya.

The violent late night raids on the Standard and KN-TV show that the police in Kenya are open to be used by the government as a political tool. Kenya's claims to democracy are not supported by the politicised, partisan and violent tactics of the police force. Basic structures of accountability need to be embedded into Kenya's police legislation to prevent the government from interfering in police operations. Until this happens, the Kenyan police will continue to warm their hands at a bonfire fuelled by the Kenyan people's right to free expression, political dissent and the rule of law.