Police has history of dismissing reports

The Kenya Police, under Maj-Gen Hussein Ali, who was appointed commissioner in 2004, has consistently dismissed reports on extra-judicial killings. The following are examples:

May 11, 2007: The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) released a preliminary report on extra-judicial killings by police. Police commissioner Ali dismissed it as “baseless and lacking evidence”.

September 23, 2008: KNCHR released the final report, showing police killed 500 youths in the war against the outlawed Mungiki sect in Nairobi and Central provinces. Police spokesman Eric Kiraithe termed it “a figment of their imagination”.

May 2008: KNCHR released The Mountain of Terror, a report which accused police and the military of killing and torturing residents of Mt Elgon District during operation Okoa Maisha (Save Lives) against the Sabaot Land Defence Force. The police commissioner reacted by appointing a team to investigate alleged rights abuse against the officers. A police report released in August 2008 rubbished that of the KNCHR.

August 2008: A report by the Independent Medico-Legal Unit singled out the Kenya Army and SLDF as the perpetrators and named the police as accomplices. The report was titled Double Tragedy.