Police and Democracy in Africa

A November 2007 New York Times article reported the Kenyan National Commission on Human Rights allegation that the Kenyan police was involved in the execution-style deaths of nearly 500 people between June and October, during a crackdown on the banned Mungiki sect. These claims were later denied by police officials. In a two-day conference organized by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) and the East Africa Law Society to discuss police and police reforms in East Africa, East African police force was accused of being a “corrupt, violent and brutal tool” inappropriately used by respective governments. According to CHRI director, Maja Daruwala, “This type of policing is at direct odds with the claims of democracy made by the governments of East Africa.”

Such allegations are, arguably, representative of the perception of the institution of police in most African countries. Yet it calls for a dire need to examine police force in Africa from a politically-controlled viewpoint. While such control may be considered illegitimate, it emanates from the Africa’s colonial legacy where regimes were designed to keep rulers in power – an unfortunate trend that is still in existence despite almost four decades of political independence.

Observers have posited that key failings of the police force in Africa are apparent in a number of ways:
a. Structural and administrative reasons
b. A nebulous inter-relationship with the military
c. An unformulated link with the arms of the government making the police force gullible to political misuse and manipulation

It has been suggested that genuine steps in African police force can only be taken if there is a progression from regime policing to democratic policing. The democratization of the police force is a result of national expansion of the democratic space. The idea of democratic policing is becoming increasingly valuable in Africa and other “transitional or post-conflict settings.” According to A handbook for oversight of police in South Africa (2005), “democratic policing sets out a normative framework for police agencies in a democracy to adhere to, even though they may adopt different structures, systems and operational strategies.” The handbook identifies four norms within which the police forces must operate:
a. Police must give top operational priority to serving the needs of individual citizens and private groups
b. Police must be accountable to the law rather than to government
c. Police must protect human rights, especially those that are required for the sort of unfettered political activity that is the hallmark of democracy
d. Police must be transparent in their activities

Besides democratic policing, it is incumbent on African governments to strengthened police training, allocate sufficient budget, and enhance collaborative programs between the police force and the public.