The disbandment of the Flying Squad may not amount to much if the new Sting Squad does not change its method of operation.
Cases abound of the Flying Squad officers being involved in robberies or extrajudicial arrests and abductions.
This was possible because they were not accountable to anyone or the accountability mechanism was weak.
The power of punishing rogue officers has to be separated from the main unit so that the principle of checks and balances is maintained.
Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoto, who has received many plaudits for his remarkable effort to combat crime, must ensure this new unit does not operate outside the law.
A new agency should be formed and given the latitude to bring such units to account for their actions.
Gone are the days when we lived in an authoritarian society that was harsh and brutal.
The 2010 Constitution brought us to a ‘society of justification’ as emphasized by Etienne Mureinik in his paper ‘A bridge to where’.
Every government unit to whom it is presumed we have surrendered our power through a social contract should use it for the best interest of the public.
But since men are not angels, they have to be monitored closely and the Sting Squad is not an exception.
Otherwise it will just be a case of old wine in new wineskins.
Atamba Sheldon, Moi University law student
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