By Eddah Waithaka
“You can’t kill us and steal from us too” Activists issue ultimatum to gov’t
Civil society groups led by VOCAL Africa have declared war on Kenya’s police service after a damning EACC report confirmed officers as the nation’s most corrupt public servants and its deadliest predators.
“This isn’t reform, it’s revolution,” declared Hussein Khalid, executive director of VOCAL Africa, at a charged press conference today.
“We are dealing with an armed criminal syndicate wearing state uniforms.”
Blood on Their Hands, Money in Their Pockets
The EACC report exposes what millions already know police extort KSh 2.8 billion monthly through roadblocks, fake arrests, and corpse-release bribes, with 87% of all bribery reports implicating officers, far surpassing any other corrupt institution while notorious killer units like the DCI’s Special Service Unit operate as taxpayer-funded death squads.
“Albert Ojwang’s murder proves their impunity,” Khalid declared, citing the 24-year-old who was beaten to death in Central Police Station cells last month. “CCTV cameras captured his killers, yet they still walk free.”
Gen Z Massacre: Unfinished Business
The coalition presented fresh evidence of police executions during June’s protests, revealing 19 confirmed sniper headshots on unarmed demonstrators, 37 bodies dumped in rivers and forests after police abductions, and 14 missing persons last seen being forced into police vehicles, proof of state-sanctioned killings.
“These weren’t ‘stray bullets,” said Shakira Wafula of Gen Zote Movement, holding photos of victims. “They were targeted assassinations.”
Six Demands – No Compromise
The groups issued a non-negotiable ultimatum demanding total disbandment of the current police service, regional policing units under community oversight, a KCSE C Plain minimum for new recruits, immediate arrest of killer cops, NPSC control over IPOA to end executive interference, and a lifetime ban for all inspectors and above from the new force “Promotions reward killers,” declared Youth Africa Network’s Raskin Oyugi, “We need entirely new blood.”
State of War
The coalition warned of mass action if demands are ignored, with Women With Power’s Salma Twalib vowing, “We’ll shut down every police station, let them arrest a million of us,” as #DisbandKPS trends nationwide, leaving State House to decide between police reform or what Khalid called a “police funeral.”
