Civilian oversight of the police: The case of Kenya

Abstract

Although more and more countries across the globe are moving toward independent civilian oversight of their police, that is not the case in Africa, where only Kenya and South Africa have followed that route. This work offers an analytical review and assessment case study of the practice of civilian oversight of the police and its application in Kenya. It quantitatively evaluates the performance of civilian oversight, set against the practice of civilian oversight of the police, and drawing heavily also on the background and field experience of the author, who served in Kenya in various policy adviser capacities.

Police Brutality and Racial Justice Narratives Through Multi-Narrative Framing: Reporting and Commenting on the George Floyd Murder on YouTube

“…Oversight is necessary for preventing and punishing police misconduct (Green & Aldebron, 2019; Hope, 2020; Losier, 2020), but centralized approaches have debatable efficacy (Green & Aldebron, 2019). Police accountability means “being answerable to audiences for performing up to certain prescribed standards” so police “behavior can be scrutinized, judged, and sanctioned” (Schlenker et al, 1994, p. 634).…”