Photo: Julius Mwelu/IRIN Post-election violence in early 2008 (file photo).
The
quest for justice for victims of the 2007/2008 post-election violence
has resumed in Kisumu, a decade after the skirmishes in which police
were accused of shooting civilians.
The case is seeking
to compel the government of Kenya to address the police shootings that
were part of the 2007/2008 post-election violence in the former Rift
Valley and western Kenya regions.
A group of
individuals and two civil society organisations - the Independent
Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU) and Citizens Against Violence (CAVI) in 2014
filed a petition in the in the Constitutional and Human Rights Division
of the High Court.
A total of 21
witnesses will take to the stand, including defence witnesses who will
testify on behalf of the State while the petitioners will be depending
on the remaining 17 to strengthen their case.
HEARING DATE
After a long time, there was light at the end of the tunnel after the Kisumu High Court gave them a hearing date.
Justice Esther Maina on Wednesday said that the case will be heard on May 7 and 8.
The petition has
been filed against the Attorney General, the police commissioner at the
time of the violence, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the
Independent Policing Oversight Authority, the Inspector-General of
Police and former Commandant of the Administration Police.
The petitioners
claim that the government failed to prevent the violence and also failed
to investigate and prosecute the police perpetrators.
14 VICTIMS SEEK JUSTICE
According to the
petitioners' lawyer, Mr Martin Onyango, the 14 victims were shot between
December 2007 and March 2008 in Kisumu, Akala, Mogogosiek, Eldoret,
Litein, Kisumu, Migori, Ahero, and Ligega areas.
"We will be putting
the 14 on the stand alongside other three expert witnesses to tell the
court what really happened," said Mr Onyango.
He said the case took a long time to start because of procedural issues but did not say what the issues were.
Mr Onyango accused the government of failing to take appropriate measures to prevent the violence following the 2007 elections.
"The government
[failed] to train police, instruct them properly during the violence,
and equally turned a blind eye to the unlawful police conduct during the
violence," he said.
NO INVESTIGATIONS
The 14 victims
claim the police refused to mount prompt, independent, impartial,
effective, and public investigations on unlawful acts by security
officers.
The petitioners
want the government to publicly acknowledge and apologise to the victims
for their failure to protect the rights of Kenyans, to provide
compensation to the victims, to investigate the shootings and prosecute
those who are responsible.
"The government
failed to redress the serious human rights violations committed by
police during the post-election violence through compensation,
restitution, medical and psychosocial services, public apologies, and
other reparations to the survivors and victims' families," said Mr
Onyango.
They also want the
government to establish a special international team within the Office
of the Director of Public Prosecutions to ensure that such
investigations and prosecutions are credible and independent.
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