Police executed 97 people in nine months, says report

What you need to know:

  • The report by rights lobby Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU) shows that 85 of the victims were summarily executed, six were shot to protect life and the other six were killed under unclear circumstances.
  • Most of the executions were recorded in Nairobi County with a total of 39, followed by Isiolo with six. Kirinyaga and Nakuru had five cases each.
  • Mr Kiama also accused MPs of attempts to change various laws to remove safeguards for public participation, accountability and access to information.

Police have shot dead at least 97 people in the country over last nine months, a new report shows.

The report by rights lobby Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU) shows that 85 of the victims were summarily executed, six were shot to protect life and the other six were killed under unclear circumstances.

Most of the executions were recorded in Nairobi County with a total of 39, followed by Isiolo with six. Kirinyaga and Nakuru had five cases each.

Turkana, Mombasa and Homabay recorded four cases each while Narok and Nyeri counties three cases each.

According to the report, January and August recorded the highest number of cases where police murdered victims of extrajudicial killings with 23 and 20 respectively.

However, the number of people killed in the past nine months, this year, dropped as compared to 178 cases that were recorded during the same period in 2014.

In the whole of 2014 a total of 199 were killed by police bullet. According to the IMLU statistics, 181 were summarily executed, 14 were shot to protect life and four were finished under unclear circumstances.

“These statistics put into question the commitment of the National Police Service to the respect of the right to life as provided for in the Constitution and the assumption of innocence until proven guilty by an impartial judicial process,” IMLU Executive Director said Mr Peter Kiama yesterday.

Mr Kiama accused the police of using extrajudicial killings as a short cut of dealing with crime suspects.

“Between January and September, IMLU has documented 25 cases and six post-mortem examinations have been conducted,” he said.

He added: “Four complaint letters were sent to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) into the deaths. Three officers have been charged.”

Mr Kiama also accused MPs of attempts to change various laws to remove safeguards for public participation, accountability and access to information.

“The Security Laws Amendment Act 2014 is a clear example of this trend where crucial provisions to safeguard independence of the police service from undue executive and political influence were removed,” said Mr Kiama.