Twelve people, including two children, were killed by police in Kenya during opposition protests in March, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said Wednesday, denouncing the "impunity" enjoyed by the security forces.
Raila Odinga, a veteran opposition member and unsuccessful candidate in the August 2022 presidential election, had called on his supporters to protest against the election results, which he disputes, and the high cost of living in the East African country hit by high inflation.
"Most were passers-by"
The demonstrations of 20, 27 and 30 March had given rise to clashes, looting and acts of vandalism. The authorities had reported three deaths, including a police officer, and had announced that they were opening investigations. But for Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International, "12 murders" committed by the security forces "were corroborated" during these three days. Two children were among those killed in the capital Nairobi following complications caused by tear gas.
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While some of the victims were involved in the rallies, most, according to witnesses interviewed, were passers-by or people in their homes or businesses," the two organizations said in a statement. One of the victims, Elijah Okumu, 26, was killed on March 27 by police, who shot him "while he was closing his shop in the Dandora district of Nairobi," according to the NGOs. The family, according to the same sources, seized the institution responsible for supervising the action of the forces of order (IPOA) but "there was no investigation into the murder". HRW and Amnesty International also documented 30 cases of gunshot wounds in Nairobi and Kisumu (west), an opposition stronghold where protests took place.
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Nyagoah Tut Pur, a researcher for HRW, denounced Wednesday at a press conference in Nairobi the "total and absolute impunity" enjoyed by law enforcement agencies in Kenya. Kenyan police are regularly accused of extrajudicial executions by Kenyan and international human rights organizations. According to Missing Voices, 1,264 people have died at the hands of law enforcement since it began collecting data in 2007. Few investigations into these disappearances have resulted in convictions.
Kenyan President William Ruto, elected in August, announced on 16 October the dismantling of the dreaded Special Services Unit (SSU), a police unit created 20 years ago and under fire after cases of enforced disappearances and killings. The head of state also promised an overhaul of the police.