The Kenya Police Force

Anti Riot police in the aftermath of a past riot at
Kenyatta University

An expert, more precisely, a group of experts, was hired to come up with recommendations on how the Kenya Police Force would redeem a bad public image and be more effective to the citizenry. Amongst the recommendations were better housing for the police, better working terms, better training and a better brand. Whoever who is in charge of implementing the recommendations was quick to implement them, rather quick to implement the easiest, branding. The "Kenya Police Force" was deemed to ring the wrong bell in terms of the police force and use of force. The Kenya Police Service would be way better.

However, this did not yield much. While the Police Force has been more visible through a spokesperson, the Administration Police (AP) was caught the other day breaking down an illegal procession. The AP chaps figured that the best way to break such a demonstration was to repeatedly clobber an elderly woman using a 1 meter wooden baton. It was even more ironical that the protest was on failure of the Police Force to respond on cattle rustling, resulting to deaths of members of the community. While the Police were a no-show during the cattle rustling, several baton-wielding individuals with a quest to clobber any human on their path were summoned in no time to break up a peaceful demonstration. Apparently, those looking to demonstrate or even commit crimes have to notify the Police in advance for a smooth going.

The unlucky AP fellow was reported to have been given the pink slip for being unfortunate enough to make a début TV appearance clobbering a mother of grown children.

Bonoko: The irony of comic relief off the poor

 It was shared on Facebook, then reshared, and shared, spreading so fast. It was hilarious, very funny. It soon made it to radio shows, where it was replayed as guys laughed it off. It was so funny that it made it to TV scripts, and to DJ mixes in the club.

Bonoko is the the name given to what started as a radio clip of a young man narrating the killing of his pal. According to the clip, the victim was relieving himself (urinating) against a wall, when he spotted City Council of Nairobi askaris  moving in to arrest him for the same purpose.

It is against Nairobi Council laws to relive yourself in non designated areas. Offenders are rounded up by askaris  and should later be arraigned before a court to be fined for the act. However, most of the time, the askaris offer to accept a lower bribe instead, usually from Kes 500.

Security Guards: Low on Intelligence

One way in which security guards can be of help
(image source: Africom's Flickr stream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/africom/)

Lately, I have had no less than 2 run ins with various security guards, in which an opportunity to provide intelligence turned out to be a pointer on its startling absence. In the same period, I have had a run in with only one matatu conductor, but circumstances were a bit different here. So do we conclude that matatu conductors are brighter than security guards, be they from KK tasked with the American embassy, or any other guard?

Do not get me wrong on security guards, or watchmen, or "solja" as sometimes we prefer to call them. These guys are still of great importance when it comes to finding out where the hell on Parklands Road that Centre Point is. At such times, Google Maps tends to think that being on Parklands Roads, you must be looking for some Centre in Germany.

While your watchman might have an idea on what is down the road, these guys are usually clueless as to what is where in the building that they are employed to guard manage.

Covering the Internet Governance Forum

The father of the Internet , Vint Cerf, and Nasser Kettani
- Microsoft's regional Chief of Technology for Africa,
Middle East and Europe (AMEA) in Nairobi for the IGF

At times I get tired of blogging, given that I spend most of the week covering events and trying to write something about the same events. The past week was no exception, with the Internet Governance Forum (IGF)coming to Nairobi. The Internet Governance Forum is a gathering of the world's Internet Policy makers, guys who decide to what limits the Internet can be used and offer guidance about the same. The IGF in Nairobi was the sixth annual event of it's kind, and the biggest ever, attracting over 2,000 participants, about 800 of them foreign. The participants ranged from small fish to big fish, like the father of the Internet, Dr. Vint Cerf, and a few other key players in Gloabl ICT firms like Facebook and Microsoft.

The Ministry of Information and the Kenya IGF needs several pats on their back for pulling the IGF off. See , they brought key Internet players in the country, and managed to impress them that the country was way ahead when it came to the Internet, or at least Nairobi was.

The guests were even impressed by the tricks that Nairobi pulled out of their sleeves - like matters of the stomach. See, the previous IGF was hosted in Lithuania, who were kind enough to ask the guests to pay for their own meals, including drinking water. In Nairobi, despite us suffering from the largest drought in 60 years, we are still kind enough to serve you meals, and drinks, and tea. After all, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information, Dr. Bitange Ndemo, was quick to remind participants that the mobile phone had made such an impact here that we no longer relied on donor countries to raise Aid for the drought, but that we were able to mobilise the money from ourselves, well past the target.