Activists and the civil society organizations have called for an overhaul of all security agencies in Kisumu City to tame runaway crime in the area.
This follows a series of attacks orchestrated by criminal gangs which have left several people dead and others injured.
Human rights activist Boniface Akach said all security apparatus in the area were sleeping on the job leaving residents exposed to the gangs which continue to reign terror.
“We are tired of waking up to a lifeless body everyday yet the Government had allocated resources to the police, given them legal powers and equipment to fight insecurity,” he said.
Police stations in the area have turned into dens of corruption accusing officers of collecting bribes from business people instead of sticking to their core mandate which is to safeguard lives and property, added Akach.
“When you go to Kondele and Kasagam Police stations, police vehicles can be spotted moving around wines and spirits shops collecting bribes from the small scale traders while criminals move around freely terrorizing residents,” he said.
Addressing the media at Kisumu Law Courts, Akach called for an overhaul of all the security agencies in Kisumu to restore sanity and put to end the runaway crime.
Police officers who have stayed more than three years in the area, he said, must not only be transferred, but investigated and held accountable for the series of criminal activities reported in the area.
If the Ministry of Interior and the National Police Service (NPS) fail to take up the matter, human rights activists and the civil society, he said, will call for protests to occupy all the police stations.
“We are giving them seven days to act, failure of which we shall occupy all the police stations especially Kondele and Kasagan where all this insecurity and extortion is taking place,” he said.
Akach further faulted the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) for dragging their feet in addressing concerns raised about individual police officers in the area.
This, he said, was to blame for the current situation since all the complaints including use of excessive force during the anti-finance bill protests have fallen on deaf ears.
The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) Kisumu Chapter Chair Dorcas Akinyi said the National Police Service has lost direction and focused on harassment and kidnappings resulting in the wave of insecurity being witnessed in Kisumu and across the country.
Akinyi said it was unfortunate that state resources were being used to harass the youths, whereas criminals were on the loose.
By Chris Mahandara
