Trends In Police Militarization, A Case Study Of Kenya (2005-2015)

Abstract

Since independence, the country has seen an increase in the use of force and brutality by the police in dealing with civil unrest and issues of crime and violence within communities. The police are the primary security providers; they are ideally bound by a code of conduct on how to administer the powers they have. While this is true, the Kenya police are continuously accused of being the biggest perpetrators of extra judicial execution and human rights abuses. This paper will try to establish if this increased use of force is a form of police militarization and the trends and impact seen across each regime with brief mention on post-independence era but with special and critical focus on the multi-party era and new constitutional dispensation. (2005-2015) Of interest in this paper was to establish if there really is an inclination towards militarization. Literature pertaining to this study was reviewed although being fairly scarce material hence relying on secondary sources of data and also limited experts and resource people. In conclusion, it is clear that there is an increased use of force by the police, the question then is to what extent with the appreciation of the Kenya context.