Comments on: Crime waves: the apathy continues

By: Sunny Bindra

Sunny Bindra — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:11:33 +0000

Florence:

The gentleman in question was critical, but seems to have come out of it. Good wishes to him.

Almost all the victims are decent, ordinary folk going about their daily life. Then their lives are ruined by goons. All this while our leaders watch, or sleep, or worry about envelopes, or whatever.

By: Florence Wamae

Florence Wamae — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:12:40 +0000

Hey Dipak,
Yes, we have to say Enough is Enough.
By the way, did I read in the news that the head of the parklands neighbourhood watch was killed last week?
When will this ever end? He was just a good man, doing a good deed (helping some guys whose car had broken down) and then they shoot him dead! The details are hazy as I write this so excuse me for that but I was so unhappy!
Ali MUST resign. I was an admirer of his but not any more. He seems to have lost control. I think the noble thing for him to do is call it quits.

By: Chandesh Parekh

Chandesh Parekh — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 18:50:44 +0000

An interesting document I found whilst researching the pay grades of the Kenyan Police, effective 1st Jan 2008 – (note, this may take some time for slower connections) New Salary Scales for Disciplined Services

This ranges from KES11,010pm, for the lowest in Job Group PG1, to KES61,000pm, for the highest in Job Group PG10.

If the people tasked to protect the public are hardly acknowledged, financially, for doing so, and they find it practically impossible to feed their own families, all the while watching many, many of the same public driving around in brand new 4x4s and spending the equivalent of a month’s salary on a single restaurant meal, it would take a person of great, unshakeable principle to look the other way while his family starves.

My point here is that although poverty and inequality are the usual suspects, they affect the police (but probably not the judiciary!). If a change is to come from the people then many of them must first acknowledge that they are part of the problem – every time I visit Kenya I see increasingly blatant displays of wealth, pretty much rubbing it in the faces of the 65% who live below the poverty line. Certain groups of people need to be on the same side to effect any kind of real change.

By: Sunny Bindra

Sunny Bindra — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 14:49:02 +0000

Chandesh:

Good points, but I think poverty and inequality are part of the ‘usual suspects’ in Kenya. They contribute, but our bigger problem is the total lack of credibility of the police and judiciary. They are part and parcel of the problem. When you can’t trust the police, nor differentiate them from the thugs that terrorise you, you are left helpless. The car-jackers are operating with utter impunity now, hitting a dozen or more cars every night, seemingly unafraid of arrest.

Dipak is right: it is time for the people to make a stand. Not to fight the thugs, because they can’t, but to say enough is enough and they will not accept this kind of governance.

By: Chandesh Parekh

Chandesh Parekh — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 12:05:19 +0000

Edmund Burke said “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” but as has been pointed out how does one identify the ‘good men’ in this day and age?

Dipak points out the danger of standing up to the criminals, as minor as they may be, and it is the same situation here in the UK with kids carrying knives and stabbing anyone who looks at them ‘wrong’. Being a ‘good man’ can be highly detrimental to your health in such an environment.

The breakdown is global (haven’t heard of student shootings in the US yet this year but summer isn’t over), the only difference being that in Kenya poverty and inequality are the cause and in the West it’s largely poor parenting and education.

The solution? This article is the start to finding one.

By: Sunny Bindra

Sunny Bindra — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 08:36:34 +0000

As you are all identifying, this is not an isolated problem, nor is it caused by the usual suspects. There is a systemic breakdown here. When can’t tell the difference between police wars and crime wars, we are in a lot of trouble.

By: Dipak

Dipak — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:28:05 +0000

Florence the reason no one would attempt to chase the goons is they are always armed with knives and not worth the risk of getting stabbed.It’s time we all got together and say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH and have to force people in the security docket to resign.

We cannot afford to face this kind of trauma nor let our children be traumatised at such a young age.

We need to stratagise and start a forum and get people together,because it’s totally gone out of hand.

Sunny can you assist and through your forum, so as to form a mass movement to stop this maddness.

By: Florence Wamae

Florence Wamae — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:56:32 +0000

I have put off giving my comments on this article about crime since Sunday. Then, yesterday, something happened and I must submit my comment.
I must say that I have tried to be as optimistic as one can possibly be under the circumstances but its not paying off. Really. Before one thinks that I am being defeatist, let me explain. on the 22nd of May, somewhere in Ngara, I experienced a very horrifying incident. Bundled with my three kids in the car, I was on my way to the Ngara City Council market. I was driving my sister’s car, and though it was a Mazda Demio, whose side lamps are a priced item, I had a false sense of Security because as my sister put it, nobody was ever going to manage to steal her side lamps. She had them fastened by the guru of light fastening….(nowadays, you either fasten them with rivets or you will buy a new set every day).
Just as I was approaching the round-about, there was banging all around the car and alas! some mean looking guy was trying to remove the lights. Somehow, I did not panic and I accelerated, all the while turning the wheel towards his direction and I believe I hit and injured his leg (hope I did!). So, I survived the ordeal, the light did not “go” but I was pretty shaken. The kids were screaming in the car and I was so hurt!
On 4th June, another incident. Same car, a friend of mine, myself, two of my kids and two of hers. Place: Near Consolata Shrine Westlands. On our way to Parklands Baptist Church for a wedding rehearsal. We spot two men walking along the road, all the while looking our way. I told my friend with all confidence, ” those guys are eying these side lamps. They will not succeed. This ones are secure like you cannot imagine. EXactly two minutes later, a repeat of the Ngara incident. This tiem they were two, they were determined and they were bigger. And this time, the side lamps cooperated. I lost them. Shaken children, shaken mothers a traumatised lot. All this happened in broad daylight. As all other motorists looked on. Nobody offered any sorry or dared chase after the goons. Infact, they walked away leisurely. I was as mad as I have never been. Yesterday, my friend, who was with me on 4th June had the same experience along Uhuru highway, between the Museum round-about and St. Paul’s University Chapel. She is almost one hundred percent sure its the same guys. She too is angry, wants the first plane out of this country…to….I don’t know where!
You know what makes me feel
so defeated? When driving from Westlands, I see the fellows sitting on the patch of grass between the highways. Unafraid and unashamedly strategizing on how to rob and cause misery to motorists. Is it possible that no police man knows about their activities? Or, maybe my question should be: do we have a police force in this country? Does anyone care? I have fantasized on mobilizing all my big bodied male friends to drive along with me in three different cars, we set a bait on the goons, catch them throw them into the boot of one car, drive to a police station and beat them to a pulp…but that is criminal…we can never win! I will not even mention the bigger things innocent Kenyans are being subjected to every day. Now children are being kidnapped. Yesterday on the news, I saw they are using petrol bombs to terrorise Juja residents.
What are we going to do? If the Police force cannot protect us, or seem to try to do so, then, I give up. They should resign. WHO WILL SAVE THIS COUNTRY???? Who cares??
Then, Masinga Dam has been shut down………..lets see whats next.

By: Dipak

Dipak — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 07:29:12 +0000

If such cases happened in other countries,the police commissioner and Internal securitity minister would have been forced to resign.

I think we kenyans are too meek.

By: anonymous

anonymous — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 07:03:00 +0000

Let’s look at the bottom of this and you will find that this is happening due to Arms & Ammunition which is fallen in wrong hands.

1. Where do the gangsters get’s arms from ?

2. Need to track down from the root the key source of arms been smuggled and to block that entry point.

Once this is under control then to get control on thugs will not be difficult.