Rob Macaire

Kenya and UK: Some thoughts on police reform

Many countries, Britain included, have reached moments when reform in the police service has become a pressing need.  My sense is that Kenya is at one of those moments now.   Security is a real issue.  Those of us who live in Nairobi are acutely aware of violent crime.  In recent weeks I have heard at first hand from people in Central province, in Laikipia and Isiolo, in Mombasa, and in Kisii about the crime problems they face.  And those are just the places I have been.  It's one of the issues that regularly comes at the top of opinion polling about people's concerns, and of course it remains a central element of the reform agenda.
 
We have been giving targeted support to improve the police's capacity in areas like forensics and crisis management work which are critical for security in Kenya. But I'm also glad that we have been able to help provide some practical support to the police reform task force itself.  We've done this, at the request of the Kenyan Government, by providing funding for quality international expertise to the task force - a technical police adviser,  local expertise, the South African deputy chair  and help with understanding oversight mechanisms. We are also supporting civil society to campaign for reform. .
 
The task force has produced its interim report and is due to complete its work soon.  Some have been sceptical, labelling it as "yet another commission"- we certainly won't be providing large scale support until we see evidence of real will to change policing culture.    But let's judge by results    I think there is a pretty strong appetite for serious reform of the police across the political spectrum , and amongst police  personnel themselves.  We'll be very interested to see how the recommendations are taken forward.  There has now been a shake-up at the top of the police, which is usually a precondition for far-reaching reform in any institution.  So let's see.
 
However, I really hope that such moves are not seen as an attack on the Kenyan police.   We all know that they do an almost impossible job, in dangerous circumstances, with very limited resources.  Police reform should be about boosting their ability to do their job, with Government investing more in policing and providing the men and women who risk their lives with a fair welfare and promotion package.  And a central ingredient in that is changing the relationship between the citizen and the security forces.  If the police are trusted by the public, they will have a cooperative environment to work in.  Many countries have found that to be the key in effective police reform.   Part of that is indeed about accountability of the police force, and independent oversight.  But if that relationship can be shifted, so that people have faith in the police to solve crimes, and not to demand bribes or to break the law themselves, the morale of the force should soar.  These are general points from experience around the world, but I believe they hold good in Kenya.  What do you think?

Posted at 09:36 18 September 2009 by Rob Macaire  |  Comments[4]

UK and Kenya: The problem of piracy

Somali pirates have been much in the news recently - not just here in the region, but across the international press.  People are rightly concerned about the threat to trade, not least into Mombasa, and a lot of people have welcomed the robust action taken recently by the US and France.   But of course this is just the tip of the iceberg: there are a lot more piracy incidents going on than hit the press, and likewise a continuous and intensive international effort to tackle them.  I agree with those who say that the problem won't be sorted finally until there is greater law & order and economic development on land.   The UK is a strong supporter of the peace process to reconcile the parties in Somalia and bring more stability and growth to the country.  

But in the meantime, many nations, including ours, are engaged in tackling the piracy threat at sea.  And it is impressive to see the responsible leadership role Kenya has taken, in being willing to take pirate suspects into detention and try them through the courts.   Now other regional countries should join that effort, so that there's a proper sharing of the burden between naval powers patrolling the waters, and regional states who stand to gain most from effective anti-piracy operations.  

A great example of international cooperation to tackle international threats.  So I'm saddened to see some of the misinformation in the press about Kenya being a "dumping ground" or putting itself at more risk by joining this international effort:  a bigger threat would come from not tackling piracy.

I see my colleague John Duncan has been blogging about this from the point of view of the international arms trade - I commend his blog.

Posted at 15:58 20 April 2009 by Rob Macaire  |  Comments[6]

UK and Kenya -Geneva Conference on Kenya

Today I am writing from Geneva, where Kofi Annan is hosting a conference to learn lessons from the Kenya crisis a year ago, and the National Accord that brought it to an end.   It’s a serious occasion, with a lot of the people who were involved in the negotiations, including from the ‘Serena team’, and representatives from civil society, media and the international community who all played a role a year ago.   Many speakers today have highlighted the concern of Kenyans about the stalling of crucial reforms, and people’s anger about the lack of action to deal with corruption.  Kofi Annan summed up a lot of people’s feelings when he said that ‘the time to act is now – signing an agreement is the easy part’.  Hopefully tomorrow’s sessions will get into more detail about implementation, including on the fundamental issues of constitutional reform, and a tribunal to seek justice for crimes committed in the post-election violence.   No-one here is under any illusion about the scale of the challenges facing Kenya.   I hope this conference will play a part in uniting all players (government, civil society, the international community) in a sense of direction and urgency.

Rob

Posted at 08:48 31 March 2009 by Rob Macaire  |  Comments[2]

UK and Kenya

Hello, and welcome to this new blog. I’m delighted to say that lots of British diplomats from the Foreign Secretary to British Embassy colleagues in Harare and other parts of the world are now blogging: I’m pleased to be one of them.

In this blog I’ll be talking about some of the things that are high on the agenda for ordinary Kenyans, and for those of us who are friends of Kenya. Things like the economic situation, governance and the fight against corruption. And also trade and investment, development co-operation, and threats from crime, terrorism and regional instability. But what do you want me to cover?. Blogging allows for a two way conversation, unlike mainstream media.  We want to learn from your perspectives and ideas.  And I hope this blog will help you understand our approach and contribute to the debate about foreign policy.  I’ll look to respond to your common ideas, comments and questions.

I’ve been British High Commissioner in Kenya for about five months now. I have met a huge range of people in this fascinating, welcoming country. But I hope that by using this tool I can reach more, and above all hear views from a wider range of people (and for those of us using local internet connections, let’s hope for improvement in the speed and ease of connectivity!).

Let me say at the start that my blog won’t get into issues of Kenyan party politics. That’s not my job. But when it comes to the reform agenda that the government signed up to in the National Accord  a year ago, we in the UK, like others in the international community, have been strong supporters. We’ll continue to do what we can to help it stay on course. Because we believe that it’s not only a unique opportunity, but it’s absolutely essential if this country is to be saved from a return to the chaos of early 2008.

So when we see it going off track, as it seems to have done with the failure to create an independent tribunal into the post-election violence as recommended in the Waki report, we will say so. Like other heads of mission with whom I made a joint statement about this,  I think that an independent  tribunal with an international prosecutor and judges and strong witness protection systems would be a good way to get justice for the victims of that violence, and deter people from repeating it.  The ICC in The Hague is another route for seeking justice, but  not without its drawbacks.  But I know lots of people think differently.  What do you think?

Posted at 11:29 17 March 2009 by Rob Macaire  |  Comments[20]