This is an election year, which means it is a bad time to play politics with security. Internally, sharp political disagreements and inflammatory talk make a violent election seem more likely by the day. Finally, though police reforms have been implemented since 2002, the Kenya Police Service seems less ready to protect the public than it was before reforms started. Since 1992, every investigation into election violence invariably concludes that the police have either failed to act to stop the violence or that they have been culpable in it. Hardware investments must not supplant the software of police reform: transparency in service; accountability to the public and effective civilian oversight.

Source: Daily Nation February 14, 2017 19:47 UTC