Police, armed gangs killed over 37 at repeat poll, says HRW

Police confront Nasa supporters with teargas and water canons on Jogoo Road on November 17, 2017. HRW says most killings occurred when police confronted protesters with teargas and live bullets. PHOTO |FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP 

In Summary

• The rights watchdog on Monday said police killed at least 23 people, most of them opposition supporters, during and after the second phase of the poll while armed gangs killed at least 14.
• Most of the killings, according to Human Rights Watch research, occurred when police confronted protesters with teargas and live bullets, but in some cases police shot at passers-by going about their daily routine, or at groups of youths standing together.

By DAILY NATION
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Police and armed gangs killed at least 37 people in Nairobi between September and November 2017 during Kenya’s repeat presidential election, Human Rights Watch has said.

The rights watchdog on Monday said police killed at least 23 people, most of them opposition supporters, during and after the second phase of the poll while armed gangs killed at least 14.

Most of the killings, according to Human Rights Watch research, occurred when police confronted protesters with teargas and live bullets, but in some cases police shot at passers-by going about their daily routine, or at groups of youths standing together.

“Authorities need to acknowledge the full scale of election-related violence, and thoroughly investigate each and every killing,” said Otsieno Namwaya, Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch.

“The families of victims need justice.”

Human Rights Watch Researchers came up with the findings after examining hospital records and holding interviews with the affected families.

Between November 2017 and January 2018, Human Rights Watch says it interviewed 67 people— including 30 relatives of victims, 27 witnesses, two human rights activists, three aid workers who helped victims’ families, three community leaders and two police officers in the field.

A majority of those interviewed hailed from Nairobi’s Muthurwa, Kawangware, Kibera, Mathare, Dandora, Kariobangi, Baba Dogo and Riverside estates.

Morgues

Researchers also examined hospital records and bodies in mortuaries, reviewed 32 reports of the government’s chief pathologist on the causes of death.

“The pathologist reports showed that most victims were shot and killed at close range and, in most cases, by a high-calibre rifle,” the lobby says.

Human Rights Watch research since August, when the first vote was held, has found that police and armed gangs killed more than 100 people during Kenya’s prolonged elections period.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International found in a joint report in October that at least 67 people were killed countrywide during the first round of voting in August, most of them either shot or beaten to death by police.

During and after the August and October elections, opposition supporters in Nairobi, the coast and western Kenya protested the alleged rigging of polls.

Demos

The National Super Alliance (Nasa) coalition of opposition parties called weekly protests across the country in September and October, first to press for reforms, then to boycott the second vote.

In the initial stages, police did not attempt to intervene, and most protests ended peacefully.

In October and November, however, Kenyan police violently dispersed protests, in many cases shooting or beating demonstrators and bystanders.

HRW faulted the government of failing to acknowledge the killings or calling for investigations and prosecution of perpetrators.

“Authorities have a responsibility to investigate the killings that took place in the period before and after the presidential election, whether by police or armed gangs. They should ensure those responsible for unlawful killings are investigated and prosecuted,” the report said.

Rights

Under international human rights norms, police may disperse unlawful or violent assemblies but should avoid the use of force or, where that is not practicable, use force only to the minimum necessary extent.

They should use firearms only in extreme cases that involve an imminent threat of death or serious injury – and even then, only when less extreme methods are insufficient.

The intentional lethal use of firearms is permissible only when strictly unavoidable to protect life. 

HRW hit out at President Kenyatta for neither acknowledging the killings nor calling for investigations, while at the same time "lavishing unqualified praise on the police".

Silence

In a December 2 letter on behalf of the president, Benson Kibui, the director of operations of the National Police Service, said that Kenyatta praised the police service for “remain[ing] firm in executing its mandate and in the service of the Kenyan people” during the election period.

“President Kenyatta needs to demonstrate that he believes in the rule of law by publicly condemning all unlawful killings, and ensuring they are investigated,” Mr Namwaya said.

“Lack of accountability is a long-time concern in Kenya, and officials need to show that they are committed to seeing justice done for these killings.”