Is Kenya fast turning into a police state?

Relatives of Mr Hemed Salim Hemed at the Mombasa court on February 17, 2014. Police have finally admitted that they arrested Mr Hemed Salim Hemed who went missing during the Masjid Musa violence but for the second time failed to produce him in court. PHOTO | LABAN WALLOGA  NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary

• Many of us believe that police exaggerated the danger from the Masjid Musa convention and as a result, used excessive force in the raid, leading to unnecessary loss of life.
• When the state itself appears to abandon the rule of law, then it is hard to tell the difference between the militants and state agents.
• The frequency with which our media houses casually report police gunning down of suspects is worrying.

By Gabriel Dolan
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A month has passed since the raid on Masjid Musa and the dust is far from settled.

On Wednesday, Shanzu court released 41 men who had been detained for 24 days and granted 29 others cash bail of Sh500,000 each.

Then for two days, junior police officers mumbled and fumbled their way through a hearing in Mombasa as they tried to explain how Hemed Salim might have escaped from their custody although TV cameras showed him handcuffed and under armed guard.

It has taken three weeks and a court order for police to respond to family concerns as to the whereabouts of Mr Hemed. The police version is far from convincing and is no comfort to his loved ones.

After the Westgate attack, it is hard to downplay the threat of militants. Yet many of us believe that police exaggerated the danger from the Masjid Musa convention and as a result, used excessive force in the raid, leading to unnecessary loss of life.

That there are dangerous elements recruiting and training Coastal youth for militant activities is widely accepted. However, the killings in the mosque, together with the disappearance of Hemed and the earlier killings of several Muslim clerics is just as likely to lead to the radicalisation of youth as any training camp in Somalia or erroneous teaching emerging from the Middle East.

DETAINEES BECOME HEROES

The court’s decision to detain most of those arrested for up to a month will most likely make them more determined rather than being a subduing experience. Detainees will become heroes while the slain will be hailed as martyrs as the state becomes the common enemy.

Terrorism is the use of violent and illegal means to spread fear and achieve ends that could not be achieved by peaceful and legal means.

But when the state itself appears to abandon the rule of law, then it is hard to tell the difference between the militants and state agents. When the Cabinet Secretary for Internal Security and the Inspector General of Police advocate ‘shoot-to-kill’ policies, who can feel safe?

When amendments to the Police Act propose that police can shoot to kill to protect property, then the state can justify killing a person suspected of stealing a cellphone.

Put rather more bluntly, it would appear that we have just as much to fear from the police as we have from extremists.

The frequency with which our media houses casually report police gunning down of suspects is worrying.

We are becoming a nation that does not respect the rule of law. With peaceful, legal demos being disrupted by force on a regular basis, we are fast turning into a police state.

An undisciplined and unaccountable police force is causing as much terror as a handful of militants.

The only way to defeat terrorism is to not allow ourselves be terrorised or succumb to unnecessary fears. Terror only breeds counter-terrorism and another cycle of violence.

There are more reasonable, effective and legal means to address security threats. Unfortunately, we choose not to follow that path.