Cord leader Raila Odinga has dismissed the Kenya Police Service as an ‘uncivilized lot’ which needs urgent reforms to meet the accepted international standards.
Speaking on Sunday during the homecoming of Kitutu Masaba MP Timothy Bosire, Odinga questioned the manner in which the police were handling ordinary citizens, terming it as ‘brutal’.
He challenged the Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet to initiate fundamental changes in the system, saying they are long overdue.
“Our police system is an uncivilised lot because the way they were handling Kenyans in the 1960s is the same way they are executing their duties in the new millennium. This should be discouraged because we need fundamental changes in the police sector,” the ODM party leader said.
“They handle issues in a brutal manner that is not acceptable at all, and time has come to change this for the sake of promoting peaceful coexistence among Kenyans. The IG should initiate fundamental changes in the security sector,” added the former Prime Minister.
His sentiments were echoed by Siaya Senator James Orengo who claimed that the police were not conversant with the rule of law, and called for urgent reforms in the sector.
“Our police force is not conversant with the rule of law. I often here them asking citizens to produce their national IDs carelessly yet that isn’t a constitutional provision. We want a police force that behaves properly,” he added.
MP Bosire was returning home following his arrest and detention at Pangani police station over hate speech remarks.
He is among the eight legislators who have been charged with the offence and are out on bond.