- The officers and their clubs have become a laughing stock whenever they attend public events in the county with calls from the public to have them reduced in size and height and also tailored as per every individual askari’s needs.
Image: CHETI PRAXIDES
Image: CHETI PRAXIDES
Lamu residents have criticised the extremely long and heavy clubs(rungus) being carried around by county askaris even as they dispense their duties.
Clubs, a common ‘weapon’ for county askaris across Kenya are considered part of their uniform outlook as they come in handy during their normal routines and also when the officers have to use force during some situations.
However, in Lamu, the rungus have become a topic of sarcastic discussions owing to their large size and extremely long length which leaves some of the smaller-bodied officers struggling to carry them around.
A few of the officers have been observed to be limping and distressed whenever they walk around with the clubs.
The officers and their clubs have become a laughing stock whenever they attend public events in the county with calls from the public to have them reduced in size and height and also tailored as per every individual askari’s needs.
Hassan Omar urged the county government to formulate a policy that will allow each county askari to have their rungus tailor-made according to their body size and height.
“It’s not a funny sight to behold. Most of them struggle to carry the clubs as they are either too long or too heavy. The county should plan to have them reduced. It’s an embarrassment, to say the least,” said Omar.
He revealed that the public has developed immense fear of the officers owing to the scary size and length of their rungus.
“You see the clubs and your brain immediately imagines what may happen if they were to land on somebody’s head or leg. People are so scared of them because of that. I believe they create a bad impression,” he said.
Husna Alawi urged the officer to never use the menacing clubs on members of the public and warned that they can easily kill someone with them.
“If by any chance there’s let’s say a demonstration that gets out of hand and they have to use the clubs to disperse people, rest assured there will be very bad injuries and deaths. We don’t want that and we are asking the county to look into adjusting those things,” said Alawi.
In his reaction, Lamu County municipal manager Abdulswamad Abdalla admitted that the clubs were indeed bigger and longer than normal.
He said the county committee office has an assortment of clubs in various sizes and lengths and that during distribution, the officers are randomly allocated the rungus without necessarily looking at their body frames.
“Our stores are full of these clubs in different sizes. There is no specific formula to distribute. We just hand them out to whoever. The few small-bodied ones find themselves in possession of the larger clubs. It’s just luck or lack of it,” said Abdalla.
He, however, promised to look into the matter and ensure the county askaris receive sizeable clubs that are less menacing.
“Unlike the police where the guns are specific to a certain individual, our clubs are randomly distributed. You get what you get. We shall look into the issue though,” he said.
Image: CHETI PRAXIDES