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{
    "id": 389721,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/389721/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 133,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "ranging from land related issues, security issues because of lack of jobs, behavioural and moral issues that Sen. Elachi has talked about. We are talking about security because of modernity or being in urban areas. This poses a big challenge in terms of security. We know that the security forces have not been effective and their capacity has not been enhanced. We are all aware that their levels of remuneration are very low. In fact, I think that most people who end up at the police service end up there because they have no other option. The level of motivation is very low. What do you do when you give people guns and potential to engage in criminal acts without necessarily giving them the discipline they require? When we talk about reservists, we should remember that previously, these people had to source recommendations from a chief. A chief had to know this person. The chief needed to know that the person knew what the community problems were. Therefore, they were recruited for that reason. About 80 per cent of the Arid and Semi Arid Lands (ASAL) is where the reservists operate from. These are the areas where the security offered by the NPS is very low. Therefore, right from the outset, it serves a specific need which is very critical. As we have said, this has not been managed well. It is interesting that under the law and the policy of the Kenya Police Reservists (KPRs), the new National Police Service Act, 2011, stipulates their role and gives effect to the Constitution of Kenya 2010 by noting that KPRs may be deployed to assist the KPS or the Administrative Police in their respective mandates which are maintaining law and order, preservation of peace, protection of life and property, prevention and detection of crime, apprehension of offenders and enforcement of all those regulations of which the Service is charged. They are given such huge responsibilities but the casual manner in which we handle them is shocking. This is an ordinance that came into being in 1948, long before we became independent. So, how we have systematically managed to forget the reservists is really surprising. The KPRs in Loima are referring to themselves as askari wa deni or security officers on credit because they are not paid for the services they render. Sometimes, they abbreviate the letters KPR as Kufa Pamoja na Raia because they operate on their own. They do not have any support system and even the Act that brought them into effect has been forgotten. How do we have a security quagmire when we have people who are being given guns without proper identification or proper systems of knowing who they are? In the law, anybody who is a reservist should have an identity. Indeed, any security officer must have an identity. The identity that KPRs have is their guns. That is their first identity and then their national identity cards. They do not necessarily have security personnel officers’ identification that is required. Uniforms are very important. That is why we have students in primary and secondary schools wearing uniform. The uniforms give a sense of identity. We have reservists with no uniforms and guns and some that have been put in place without proper mechanisms and that creates a quagmire in terms of the role they are supposed to play in the society. The first bit because of their interaction is that they have a lot of knowledge that we should take advantage of. Over time, we should use this to our advantage. These are people who are known in the community. They know what their expectations are; they understand what the problems are in Laikipia, Narok, Turkana and other problems like those of pastoralism. It has been difficult for security personnel to monitor who they"
}