An Unusual Hero

Mention the Kenyan GSU, and images of red-bereted, combat-geared policemen waving batons chasing rioting university students amid plumes of choking tear gas come to mind. It is not clear where the tagline fanya fujo uone (just try to make trouble, and see)came from, but it stuck so indelibly in the Kenyan psyche they might have well have adopted it officially and put it at the bottom of their logo. On 29th December 2007, Kenya saw a new side of this feared force when Superintendent Joseph Musyoka Nthenge faced a crowd of 500 angry demonstrators in Mathare and attempted to reason with them, asking why they were destroying a Kenya that had taken years to build. This was back before we knew what the fallout from the disputed and discredited presidential election would be. The electoral commission was delaying announcing the presidential results and people were getting restless. In slums all over Nairobi, young men gathered and prepared to march to the Kenyatta International Conference Center, ground zero for the Electoral Commission, to demand an answer.

The R Company of the GSU, Superintendent Nthenge’s unit, had been deployed to cover Kasarani constituency during the election. After the election R Company moved to Mathare. It is here that the TV cameras captured him talking to the demonstrators who had already destroyed property and were going to burn more houses and cars on their way to the city-center.

Fast forward to mid-February and we are driving to Ruiru to meet Superintendent Nthenge. Directions have been given as follows: past Ruiru town, past the fly-over, go two kilometers and you will see the camp on the left. We approach and from far we can see the rectangular metal water tanks raised high on stilts that mark many government facilities. Closer and we see the chain-link fencing and concrete posts that surround military camps, but we still miss the entrance and have to do a precarious loop before we get to the camp.

A brief pause at the gate while the guard makes a call and we are shown to the administration block.

This is the first surprise – he has an office and sits behind a desk. The second is the silver in his hair. On TV he looked like a young, battle-ready soldier. In person he is youthful but obviously a man of experience. He is medium-height and medium-build – not a man who would stand out in a crowd. He greets us warmly and gestures to the chairs opposite him. He is self-effacing and laughs off his newfound fame.

Superintendent Nthenge talks about that day in Mathare: “My duty was to make them not go to town… I talked to the boys in a calm way… First before you can disperse the rioters… you have to tell them your aim… There is no point of using force if they are willing to go.” But make no mistake, for all his gentleness you get the impression that Superintendent Nthenge will not hesitate to kick your ass if you cross the line he has drawn. “If they cannot disperse, you can use batons and teargas… and if that is not possible you have the third option of using the water cannon.”

After the results were announced, all hell broke loose. While the famous personalities were addressing the TV audiences from studios, Superintendent Nthenge was on the street. Though he looked calm, Superintendent Nthenge says, “I had to gather my courage. I said if they were going to stone me let them stone me.”

At a time when all TV channels were showing the GSU faithfully fulfilling every teargas-throwing, water-cannon spraying, slum-cordoning stereotype, Superintendent Nthenge’s clip playing over and over was like a palliative, giving the police a much-needed human face. While the riot police stood shoulder to shoulder in intimidating body armor, looking for all the world like space rangers, Superintendent Nthenge looked vulnerable and approachable. “Times have changed. If you cannot accept the change, it will force you,” Nthenge says. The GSU of old had a fearsome reputation, “If they would pass a place they would not spare anything, even dogs. They were not seen as people who could share a word with anybody,” Nthenge acknowledges and laughs. “The training has changed. I was taught negotiation and it sank into my brain… also customer care.”

“As in the people rioting are your customers?” I ask.

“Yeah… Why not?” Nthenge answers without a hint of irony. “People know their rights… People should not fear the GSU.” As to what should happen to make this tenuous peace in Kenya permanent, Nthenge says it is the duty of the politicians to go back to their constituencies and preach peace as rigorously as they campaigned to be elected.

The usual biodata: Superintendent Joseph Musyoka Nthenge was born on 18th March 1962 at Iviyani Village. He attended Kitengei Primary School from 1971 to 1977 and Kathese Secondary from 1979 to 1982. He joined the Kenya Police in 1983 and has followed no other vocation since. He went to the GSU training school and has served in various capacities, rising to his current rank of superintendent and Staff Officer of Operations of the R Company in 2007. Since he appeared on TV, colleagues from all over the country, some of whom he hasn’t seen since they trained together, have called to congratulate him for showing what they believe is the true image of the GSU. They and Superintendent Nthenge are true believers in the stated mission to make the Kenya Police a world class police force. At a time when we have also seen a riot policeman shoot dead a young unarmed man on TV, there is a reassuring professionalism and humanity about Superintendent Nthenge.

For all the stand-together, build-one-country, because-we-are-one-people talk, Superintendent Nthenge is a hero because he keeps his humanity about him and does not retreat to a safe, impenetrable place when he wears that camouflage and red beret.

Jacqueline Lebo lives in Nairobi, is a writer, photographer and the Managing Editor at Kass Magazine. She is currently working on a book about Kenyan athletes in the Rift Valley, and is a runner herself. Jacqueline Lebo is a member of Concerned Kenyan Writers and a photographic consultant for GenerationKenya.