POLICING REFORM in AFRICA Moving Towards a Rights-Based Approach in a Climate of Terrorism, Insurgency and Serious Violent Crime
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POLICING REFORM IN AFRICA Moving towards a rights-based approach in a climate of terrorism, insurgency and serious violent crime Edited by Etannibi E.O. Alemika, Mutuma Ruteere & Simon Howell POLICING REFORM IN AFRICA Moving towards a rights-based approach in a climate of terrorism, insurgency and serious violent crime Edited by Etannibi E.O. Alemika, University of Jos, Nigeria Mutuma Ruteere, UN Special Rapporteur, Kenya Simon Howell, APCOF, South Africa Acknowledgements This publication is funded by the Ford Foundation, the United Nations Development Programme, and the Open Societies Foundation. The findings and conclusions do not necessarily reflect their positions or policies. Published by African Policing Civilian Oversight Forum (APCOF) Copyright © APCOF, April 2018 ISBN 978-1-928332-33-6 African Policing Civilian Oversight Forum (APCOF) Building 23b, Suite 16 The Waverley Business Park Wyecroft Road Mowbray, 7925 Cape Town, ZA Tel: +27 21 447 2415 Fax: +27 21 447 1691 Email: [email protected] Web: www.apcof.org.za Cover photo taken in Nyeri, Kenya © George Mulala/PictureNET Africa Contents Foreword iv About the editors v SECTION 1: OVERVIEW Chapter 1: Imperatives of and tensions within rights-based policing 3 Etannibi E. O. Alemika Chapter 2: The constraints of rights-based policing in Africa 14 Etannibi E.O. Alemika Chapter 3: Policing insurgency: Remembering apartheid 44 Elrena van der Spuy SECTION 2: COMMUNITY–POLICE NEXUS Chapter 4: Policing in the borderlands of Zimbabwe 63 Kudakwashe Chirambwi & Ronald Nare Chapter 5: Multiple counter-insurgency groups in north-eastern Nigeria 80 Benson Chinedu Olugbuo & Oluwole Samuel Ojewale SECTION 3: POLICING RESPONSES Chapter 6: Terrorism and rights protection in the Lake Chad basin 103 Amadou Koundy Chapter 7: Counter-terrorism and rights-based policing in East Africa 122 John Kamya Chapter 8: Boko Haram and rights-based policing in Cameroon 147 Polycarp Ngufor Forkum Chapter 9: Police organizational capacity and rights-based policing in Nigeria 163 Solomon E. Arase Chapter 10: Policing by task force in post-conflict Nigeria 176 Jimam T. Lar SECTION 4: CASE STUDIES AND GENERAL CONCLUSIONS Chapter 11: Kenya: The impact of counter-terrorism measures on police reform 197 Japhet Biegon & Andrew Songa Chapter 12: Nigeria: Human rights and internal security operations 221 Daskyes Yohanna Gulleng & Anande Vitalis Hunduh Chapter 13: Summary and conclusions 236 Mutuma Ruteere iv Foreword Contemporary police forces in African states are all facing new challenges, some of them unique to the African continent. Whether it be in confronting their own historical origins or facing increasingly organized criminal networks, these challenges are re- shaping and redefining the purpose and operations of African police organizations. A challenge that is frequently overlooked, and yet magnifies these questions of purpose and operations, emerges at the juncture at which police organizations confront terrorism, insurgency and serious violent crime. How, for instance, do police organizations productively liaise with military forces deployed against terrorist organizations, what is their mandate when dealing with threats that are invariably regional in nature, and how do they ensure their investigative obligations are met when operating in environments of war? More importantly, how do police organizations prioritise the protection of human rights on the continent and how do they hold accountable themselves and other security forces so that they do not themselves become platforms for further abuse? Meeting these challenges is made even more complex when responses to terrorism or insurgent activity occur in civilian spaces, as the police may be required to yield to military command and are expected to provide the investigative capacity required to hold terrorist suspects accountable to the rule of law. This publication engages with these and many other challenges as they relate to the rights-based reform of police organizations in climates of terrorism, insurgency and serious violent crime. Taking seriously the complexity of these challenges and in recognising that police are themselves important bearers of knowledge, contributions to the publication are from a range of African academics, civil society experts, as well as very senior police officers from police organizations on the continent. This assemblage of authors is entirely unique – there has not been a publication with such a number of senior police officers writing about challenges facing policing in Africa before. Complementing this breadth, the book’s analytical depth is bolstered by incorporating both theoretically nuanced contributions from the leaders in the subject field and pragmatic reflections on the employment of such concerns in the field. Finally, we remain especially grateful to the funders who made this project possible, and for the continued support and guidance they have provided throughout it – the Ford Foundation, the United Nations Development Programme and the Open Societies Foundation. Sean Tait Director APCOF v About the editors Professor Etannibi Alemika University of Jos, Nigeria Etannibi Alemika is a professor of criminology and sociology of law, specializing in criminology, sociology of law, criminal justice reform, policy and practice, and security governance. He holds BSc and MSc degrees in sociology from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria and an MSc and PhD in criminology from the Department of Social System Sciences, Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a board member of several professional and academic organisations, including CLEEN Foundation in Nigeria, the African Civilian Policing Oversight Forum (APCOF), and the Altus Global Alliance; and a member of the American Society of Criminology and the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. Dr Mutuma Ruteere Centre for Human Rights and Policy Studies, Kenya Mutuma Ruteere was a special rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance during the completion of this book, handing over the appointment in November 2017. He holds an MA in international relations from the University of Essex and a PhD in criminology from the University of Cape Town. He is the director of the Centre for Human Rights and Policy Studies, working at the intersection of research and policy on issues of security, conflict, violence, policing and justice reform. Dr Simon Howell APCOF, South Africa Simon Howell is the research director for the African Policing Civilian Oversight Forum, and a research associate both at the Centre of Criminology and the Global Risk Governance Programme at the University of Cape Town. He holds a PhD in political philosophy, his research having focused primarily on topics relating to illegal drugs and gangsterism, and the policing of these in South Africa and elsewhere. He is an advisor to a number of state and non-state organisations on these topics, and has published on a range of subjects in both the academic literature and wider public media, and appears regularly in the South African press and on the radio. Section 1 Overview Contents Chapter 1: Imperatives of and tensions within rights-based policing 3 Etannibi E.O. Alemika Chapter 2: The constraints of rights-based policing in Africa 14 Etannibi E.O. Alemika Chapter 3: Policing insurgency: Remembering apartheid 44 Elrena van der Spuy Chapter 1 Imperatives of and tensions within rights-based policing Etannibi E.O. Alemika Criminal justice and human rights Criminal justice systems are established by society or the state to prevent and control crime and violence and thereby protect and promote fundamental rights. They are equipped to respond to crime and criminals through the investigation of these crimes and, if necessary, through the arrest, prosecution, detention and trial of any suspects or accused persons. To perform these functions, criminal justice agencies are vested with enormous and often intrusive powers which impact on the fundamental rights guaranteed in international and national human rights instruments. Therefore, if the powers exercised by the criminal justice agencies are not regulated and if the relevant agencies are not subjected to democratic political and legal oversight and accountability, they can be abused to entrench oppression, exploitation and impunity. Crime constitutes harm to individual citizens, the erosion of social order and injury or loss to victims. As such, the rights of these three parties are involved in any criminal incident and each deserves equal recognition. It is for this reason that reflections on police services and policing strategies – as a function of and in contributing to the building of democratic states – are so important. Policing shortfalls and problems, moreover, are often most clearly seen when policing organizations are forced to operate at their limits, such as when engaging with counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations. And it is precisely for this reason that this book focuses on the interface between policing and terrorism in the context of policing reform. Public policing services, mediated by undercurrents of political and socio-economic power and relations, are unequally delivered in most societies. In their operations and decisions, criminal justice systems unevenly protect the rights of citizens in relation to their different class, economic, demographic, racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds. And while the three most significant parties in a criminal process