It’s one thing to be caught smoking weed and having sex in a public bus, but it’s a totally different and graver offense when the police strip a minor naked and parade them to the media for evidence. 
This was the unfortunate scenario that a school girl found herself in, her nether regions exposed to the world by the police. What was going through that cop’s mind when she rolled down the girl’s underwear in front of people with cameras beats me to this moment. I mean, forget the drugs and all, did she think about that girl’s future or was she all about the fame? The picture has been doing rounds on social media and I recoil to think what the girl is going through at the moment, taking into account that she’s a minor!
I recall when some time back there were incidents of ladies being undressed and everyone was up in arms even the president. But now, nobody’s talking about this brutality on the police’s part. If anything, all consternation is toward the students for partaking drugs and nothing on the police’s wrongs.
Society has failed teens in a large way, not only by alienating and judging them harshly as if they did not go through teenage. Let’s face it, who did not experiment with drugs and sex back in high school? Everybody up in arms and acting shell shocked about all this whole fiasco is a big pretender.It is also disturbing how the story of their nubbing hit the headlines of all major media outlets but no mind is paid to what the police took the girl through. If anything, that is the unique thing about it all- police harassing teeniez because of their seeming vulnerability. The teens caught should go through guidance and counselling and the society to stop burying its head in the sand and reacting with shock when what they knew went on all along blows up. These are issues that should be tackled from the grassroots and capitalising on isolated incidents for publicity.
The police should not get off this easy. If they had done their jobs in the first place, the students would not have accessed weed in the first place and if they had to be strip searched then isn’t the procedure supposed to be conducted by a female officer in a private place? Pray tell, isn’t our nudity protected by the constitution? Should we as a society allow an innocent schoolgirl swayed by influences be abused for our enjoyment. Drugs did not begin with that incident and they will not end with it. Like I said, it is an issue that needs to be tackled with broadly if we are really serious about eradicating the drug problem.
The officer should face criminal charges as consequences for her thoughtless actions and pay for the psychological torture she inflicted on the girl.
And if you shared these photos on social media and Whatsapp, shame on you! You should share the same cell with the same cop!
Joe Black
