Rigathi Gachagua reiterates move to have Police ferry drunkards home
By George OdiwuorA drunkard walking home at night should be ferried by a police car to his or her home.
This is the proposal of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua who has warned security officers against harassing drunk pedestrians on the streets at night but instead help them get home safely.
Police have been forced to battle accusations of harassing pedestrians as they walk home at night.
Some cases of alleged harassment have led to injuries and in the worst cases, death.
Mr Gachagua is now calling for reforms in the National Police Service.
He proposed that police should be humble when they meet drunkards, especially at night.
Instead of taking drunk people to the police cell, the DP said the group should be put in police cars and taken home.
“Police should know that all citizens are their friends. They should take drunk people to their wives to rest and not the cells,” Mr Gachagua said.
He spoke in Homa Bay town when he accompanied President William Ruto for a two days development tour in Nyanza.
According to the DP, this is part of the reforms they have for security officers in the county.
Other reforms include eliminating corruption in the service by uprising salaries for security officers.
President Ruto has already appointed a committee that will review police salaries.
Mr Gachagua said police will soon have their salaries reviewed.
“Police should therefore stop collecting bribes because they will have more pay,” he said.
This is not the first time the deputy president is proposing unconventional reforms in the national police service.
In October 2022, the DP said the system of taking people home is applied in the United States of America where security officers take drunk people home.
The DP also discouraged police from arresting suspects on Friday and locking them up for the weekend for petty offenses.
“We will not use the police for personal gain. No need to arrest people on Friday and release them on Monday (without charge). That is the wrong use of administration.”
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