Interior CS Fred Matiang’i wants to ban men and women serving in the National Police Service from dating and marrying.
Kenyans are asking whether that’s lawful and how the ban can prevent two adults from falling in love.
Matiang’i has asked the ministry to form rules banning police officers from having intimate relations with colleagues to prevent cases of officer couples killing each other.
“We will adopt a system similar to that of the Kenya Defence Forces which bars the soldiers from getting into intimate relationships with their colleagues,” he said.
“Moving forward, it will be illegal for a police officer to date or get married to a fellow law enforcement officer. If it happens that two police officers fall in love, then one has to leave the Service.”
Kenyans are questioning how effective the ‘love ban’ would be.
Such a ban exists in the Kenya Defence Forces where officers are not allowed to marry their colleagues.
CS Matiang’i’s directive comes barely a month after a General Service Unit officer attached to his office shot his wife more than five times and thereafter turned the trigger on himself.
The GSU officer Hudson Wakise killed his wife Pauline Wakasa over what emerged to be a protected marriage conflict.
“Illicit love stories will be on the rise and again this is a naive way of thinking, Things like love are naturally wired, setting not-withstanding. Let people marry as they wish, Free world is what we stand for. Matiang’i must come slowly,” Ouma Onyango tweeted.
Last week, the ODM leader Raila Odinga commented on the rising cases of family murders in the country where he urged couples to exercise tolerance.
The ODM leader said it is important that couples learn to cope with each other at times of disagreement or leave in peace if it’s difficult to do so.
“This scourge must come to an end. The abnormality of these murders cannot become the normal No! If you cannot reconcile, then, leave and let life,” he advised.
