A junior Kenyan police officer has written a bold open letter addressed to senior officers in the National Police Service, calling on them to exercise their authority with humility and treat those below them with basic human dignity.
Sammy Ondimu Ngare penned the message in what he described as “good faith,” acknowledging upfront that speaking candidly to those above you in the Service is rarely easy, but insisting that silence was no longer an option.
Sammy’s Message to Senior Officers
At the heart of the letter was a straightforward appeal: rank is a responsibility, not a weapon. Ngare urged bosses not to let arrogance define how they treat the officers serving under them.
He pointed out that some junior officers carry exceptional talent, intelligence and personal achievements, and that a lower rank does not strip anyone of their worth as a human being.
He also called out the practice of using transfers as a form of punishment whenever a senior officer disagrees with a junior one.
Sending someone to a remote or difficult posting to settle a personal score does not resolve the underlying issue and only degrades the officers already serving in those areas.
“Don’t use someone’s child in a way you would never want your own child to be treated,” he wrote, urging every boss to pause before wielding authority and ask themselves honestly: “If this was my son, daughter, brother or sister, would I still feel comfortable doing this?”
Power Is Temporary
The police officer grounded his message in a simple but sobering truth: no position lasts forever.
He reminded senior officers that many powerful figures before them had already retired, passed on or simply lost their influence, and that the same fate awaits everyone currently sitting in a position of command.
He asked officers to consider the kind of legacy they will leave behind once they take off the uniform.
“Be the kind of boss whose absence creates a genuine gap because people respected your leadership, not because they feared you,” he wrote.
He closed with a direct challenge to every police boss who read the letter: lead rather than intimidate, serve rather than oppress, and never forget the journey that brought you to where you are today.
“Power is temporary, but the way you treated people can be remembered for generations,” Ngare wrote.
