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NAIROBI, Kenya, May 2 – Human Rights Organisations under the Police Reforms Working Group have decried the increased cases of enforced disappearances and extra-judicial killings in the country, after a youthful resident of Mathare was last week arrested, only for his body to be found at the City Mortuary.
Two of his friends, the right groups said are still missing, with three police officers working in the area being linked to the incidents.
Amnesty International-Kenya Executive Director Irungu Houghton said their efforts to seek help have been futile, saying the alleged killer officers should be arrested and arraigned in court.
“The Police Reforms Working Group (PRWG) has received a number of complaints against the same officer and others such as Ahmed Rashid of Pangani. We are shocked and perturbed that the duty bearers in the Ministry of Interior, the National Police Service and Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) have not taken steps to bring these officers to justice. We suspect that Baraza, Ahmed Rashid, Njoro and the other are serial killers in uniform,” the Amnesty International-Kenya Executive Director said during a press conference.
On his part, Haki Africa Executive Director Hussein Khalid called on President Uhuru Kenyatta, Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiangi and Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai to publicly condemn the vice.
“According to the Missing Voices annual report, police officers killed 157 Kenyans in 2020 and forcefully disappeared 10 Kenyans in their custody. Collins is just one of the many cases of police killings that has continued unabated,” he said, when he read a joint statement.
“We demand swift action to end the reign of terror on Kenyan youth in Mathare and other informal settlements in Nairobi and across the country including Mombasa and Kisumu.”
Other organisations represented under the Police Reforms Working Group include the Independent Medico-Legal Unit, Defenders Coalition, International Justice Mission, Kenya Human Rights Commission, Women Empowerment Link, Transparency International-Kenya, Usalama Reforms Forum among others. Some 21 organisations are members of the working group.
Recently, four men were abducted from Kitengela and so far, two have been found killed in Muranga and Kiambu areas, more than 100 kilometres from where the incident happened.
IG of Police has formed a special unit of homicide detectives to probe the harrowing killings.
They have four weeks to unravel the mystery and have those involved brought to book.
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