Noble but Onerous Duty

From a humble beginning as a son of employees in white settlers farms in the centralRift Valley, Dr Francis K. Sang overcame many odds to rise through the ranks ofthe Kenya Police and become the 4th Kenyan Director of the Criminal InvestigationDepartment. He served in this position for 4 years before he was transferred tothe Ministry of Foreign Affairs after the changeover of government in Kenya at the end of2002. He was tasked with the establishment of the Nairobi Secretariat to coordinate issuesto do with small arms in the region. This he did and later helped transform the secretariatinto the Regional Centre for Small Arms (RECSA), a regional inter-governmental body thatcoordinates activities aimed at controlling and reducing the proliferation of small arms andlight weapons in the Eastern Africa, Great Lakes and Horn of Africa region and borderingstates. In this autobiography, he relates his experiences, from the difficult circumstancessurrounding his birth and childhood, his struggles to get an education in spite of the manyobstacles that he faced and his experiences in the police force, particularly in the CriminalInvestigation Department (CID) during the tenure of the 2nd President of Kenya, Danielarap Moi. He also relates his experiences after the NARC Government took over in 2002 andsent most senior security offi cers in the former government packing, either on retirement oron transfer to other less prestigious positions. He further relates how, through determination, he has been able to achieve his academicdreams which had been deferred earlier in his life owing to financial constraints, culminatingin the acquisition of a PhD late in life. He also speaks about the role his family has played inenabling him to achieve all he has in his life. Reflecting on his long journey that has broughthim to the place where he is today, the author also gives a number of insights on his workand life. This autobiography should serve as interesting reading to the general public as well asto persons serving in the disciplined forces, considering that it is the first from amongstpersons that have served in the police force and risen through the ranks to the very top.