No longer at ease: It's time to fix Kenya's broken security

Kenya today is walking a dangerous path. When bodies are being discovered in unusual places – even in a stadium under construction – and when prominent personalities, including Members of Parliament, lawyers, can be shot and lose their lives, then the ordinary mwananchi has every reason to live in fear.

Because if the high and mighty can be gunned down without hesitation, what makes me, a common hustler struggling to put ugali on the table, believe that I am safe? If my MP or a Legal Professional can be targeted, then who is really untouchable?

Our security apparatus must answer this question.

It is no longer just about insecurity in bandit-prone areas or the petty thefts in estates and markets. This is about a pattern, cold-blooded shootings, unexplained killings, and bodies surfacing even in construction sites. It tells us something very worrying: that life in Kenya has become cheap, and accountability for murder is almost non-existent.

Worse still, even the police, who should be the very protectors of life and property, are increasingly being feared. People disappear after being picked up by men in uniform. Families bury their sons and daughters after weeks of searching morgues. Every parent now prays their child doesn’t fall into the wrong hands, not of criminals, but of those who should guard them.

How did we get here? And more importantly, why are we still pretending that this is normal?

The truth is, when security is politicized, when corruption infects even the police service, and when political assassinations are swept under the carpet, then insecurity ceases to be about isolated crimes. It becomes a culture. A culture that tells the poor man, “You are disposable.”

We cannot, as Kenyans, accept this. Security is not a privilege for the rich, the powerful, or those with bodyguards. It is a right enshrined in our Constitution. A right that every farmer, boda rider, mama mboga, teacher, student, and politician alike must enjoy. A right that cannot be negotiated, postponed, or undermined.

If the government cannot guarantee that right, then what is the purpose of government? The President should not forget that his legacy will not be judged by how many trips abroad he has made. It will be judged by whether Kenyans can walk to the market without fear. Whether a young man can go home at night without wondering if the police or a hitman will take his life. Whether justice finally ceases to be a slogan, and becomes a reality.

It is high time we demand maximum security, for all. No excuses, no scapegoats, no empty speeches. Security must be seen, felt, and guaranteed, not just for leaders, but for every mwananchi.

Because if leaders can be shot, then what about us?

By Sebastian Karani Asava