Kenya Police: a friendly experience

In the country where I was born we say (without any irony): The Police is your best friend. In Kenya, people could say police are worse then thieves. They misuse their power for robbing, arresting people, often with the only reason to get money. recently, i heard a story about a police man that refused to pay a matatu fee of 20 shillings. The whole bus started protesting and told him: ‘This is the fee, just pay.” Then the police officer in plain clothes decided to force the minibus to drive to the police station. He said everybody would be arrested. But things are changing. Reporting on the massacre in Turbi, me an my colleague got a ride from a police car over a 140 kilometer dirt road between Marsabit and Turbi, through the dessert, and I could not believe it when they said that the ride was free of charge.