The Inspector General of Police (IG) Japheth Koome has at last had the courage to do what no police boss before him has done— publicly confess that corruption is rampant in the police force. This is not news to Kenyans, as the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission has consistently ranked the police service as the most corrupt public institution.

Previous police bosses have always subverted this narrative by retorting that wherever there is a police officer being bribed, there is a member of the public giving money. Police are not responsible. Case closed.

That is why Koome’s frank and unequivocal admission is a first, tiny step, but a critical one in the right direction nonetheless. It means that the top echelons of the police service are finally ready to confront this monster that has ravaged Kenyans unabated and continues to do so.

What Kenyans want is for police to stop demanding bribes from people seeking services from them, or weaponising the criminal justice system to extort Kenyans. Who does not know of the threat of police charging you with breaking several laws which carry heavy fines as a method of getting you to “negotiate” a bribe to get freed.

What the IG needs to understand is that talk is cheap. He must walk the talk, and take a leaf from the reformers in Government who are drastically changing the ethos of service delivery in their dockets. He must adopt the critical lessons from how they have achieved success.

The successful reform of some Government departments to clean out bribery and introduce seamless services in a timebound manner offers great motivation to the IG if he really wants to do what has completely beaten his predecessors — killing corruption in the police service. It shows him that it can be done. The police service is no more corrupt than its peers in graft, some of whom were previously extremely notorious.

But the IG must think disruption. His actions must be completely out of the box. He must take personal charge. He must understand that it will be a very lonely journey.

There are some things he could do to quickly win public confidence in this fight.
Establish a confidential communication platform that the public can safely use to report incidences of police demanding bribes. This line must be completely secure, and any indication that such information is being leaked to those being reported would completely kill any chance of the public to co-operate with IG Koome in this endeavour.

Automate most services offered by the Service. Certificates of Good Conduct, abstracts etc can be automated to a level where human to human contact is drastically reduced or eliminated altogether.
Publish services standards and put them up in all police stations, Huduma Centres, offices of chiefs among key institutions where the public frequents. Impose swift and punitive actions on those police officers caught taking bribes, including jail terms.

Undertake a public campaign asking the public not to bribe the police, and directing them to the reporting hotlines. Post posters in all police stations and police posts with the loud message “services here are free.

Do not bribe any police officer. If any officer asks you for money, please report him or her through the hotline!”IG Koome has decided to take on an elephant. He can slay this dragon of corruption if he is determined, but it will not die easy. The culture of hongo (bribery) in the police force is too entrenched.
Traffic police are so notorious that bribery has now become completely accepted as a way of doing business. They no longer hide.

The IG must ask himself: What legacy do I want to leave? Interior Cabinet Secretary Prof Kithure Kindiki is leading the way in showing what the bottom up approach to Government means.

Giving the government back to the people so that even the most vulnerable can access government services seamlessly.
Does IG Koome have what it takes? The jury is out there. And Kenyans are watching… and waiting.
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