Joe Keshi: Kenya’s Police Chief Should Resign Over Officers’ Disregard For Protesters’ Lives

The National President of the Association of Retired Career Ambassadors of Nigeria, Joe Keshi, has advised the Kenya Chief of police to resign over officers’ disregard for the lose of protesters lives.

He said this while speaking in an interview with ARISE NEWS on Thursday about the week long protest in Kenya over the finance bill.

Addressing the police response to the protests, Keshi was critical of their approach, saying, “If the leadership of the police wants to help the president and the country, then the police chief in Kenya should honourably resign because of the loss of lives. Police in this part of the world have not learned how to manage demonstrations. Their first reaction is to match force with force. No matter what has happened, they will repeat it. They have never cared. The police’s first obligation is to protect the people in power.”

The former Diplomat highlighted the necessity for better training for law enforcement in managing protests. “A point we have to learn throughout the continent of Africa is we need to convince the police and the military on how to manage crises like this. This is not the first country where you have people killed because they are demonstrating in support of their rights. It’s a democracy and they have the right. There are better ways they can handle the situation rather than just opening fire and killing people. The guns they are using were purchased by the people,” he stated.

Criticising the common justification used by police forces about criminal elements hijacking the protest, Keshi noted that “it’s not enough reason to justify what has happened. The police always use that crazy excuse.”

Keshi expressed his concerns about the handling of the protests, emphasising the importance of effective communication and crisis management.

 He remarked, “When I listened to the president yesterday, it was clear that Kenya needed resources to execute some of the things that the president said he wants to do. I think the major problem was poor communication to start with. The people were not properly educated or informed of these resources. If the President had taken time to do what he wants to do now, perhaps the riot wouldn’t have taken place.”

He advised Kenyan President William Ruto to engage in more proactive communication and dialogue. “My advice is for the president to move with military precision and begin the dialogue which should have taken place first. One major national broadcast will not solve the problem; he needs to reach out more to the people and win them over. He also needs to take more actions, maybe against the police leadership,” Keshi suggested.

Further speaking, Keshi also drew parallels to Nigeria, urging Nigerian leaders to learn from Kenya’s situation.

“Communication is something leaders must learn to do. They must not treat the people anyhow. It’s a lesson to our country because there are many similar issues going on in Nigeria. I hope our leaders and members of the national assembly are taking a cue so when they are approving a couple of things, they should bear this in mind. It gets to a place where the people say enough is enough, and someday in this country, people will get to that stage if we don’t manage our own crisis as well,” he warned.

On this same path, the president convener of the Civil Society Reference Group, Cidi Otieno, in a prior interview called for transparency regarding Kenya’s debt. “For the last two years, Kenya has borrowed 5.2 trillion shillings. The former regime for 10 years borrowed around 7 trillion. Where is the money going to? Kenyans need a debt update,” Otieno demanded.

Keshi highlighted the need for Nigerian lawmakers to heed the lessons from Kenya’s unrest. “The most important thing is that the Nigerian National Assembly should take a clue from what has happened and not ignore what is happening in Nigeria,” he advised.

 Reflecting on the potential impact of the protests on President Ruto’s political future, Keshi remarked that the outcome of this situation will “depend on how he handles this. He has to show his political ingenuity.”

NANCY MBAMALU 

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