118 killed extrajudicially by Kenyan police in 2023: Rights groups

NAIROBI – A total of 118 people were the victims of extrajudicial killings by Kenyan police in 2023, said local and international rights groups in a report published on April 24, decrying the “impunity” still enjoyed by the security forces.

The figure is down around 9 per cent from 130 in 2022, while the number of “enforced disappearances” dropped by more than half to 10 over the same period, it said.

Almost half of the killings took place during crime-fighting operations, according to the report by organisations including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International Kenya and the Kenyan group Missing Voices.

Another 45 people were killed during demonstrations staged by the Kenyan opposition between March and July 2023 to protest the high cost of living, the groups said.

The demonstrations against the government of President William Ruto witnessed sporadic violence and looting, and the opposition and rights groups accused the police of using excessive force.

“Police officers rarely get arrested for taking part in extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances,” the April 24 report said.

National police spokeswoman Resila Onyango did not respond to AFP’s requests for comment.

Since his election in 2022, President Ruto has repeatedly said he wants to put an end to violence and illegal practices by law enforcement officers.

Kenyan police are often accused by rights groups of using excessive force and carrying out unlawful killings, especially in poor neighbourhoods.

They have also been accused in the past of running hit squads targeting those investigating alleged rights abuses by police, including activists and lawyers.

“It is true that we have lost many Kenyans because of extrajudicial killings. It is also true that we have lost many Kenyans because of political assassinations,” Mr Ruto said on April 21.

“There shall never again be extrajudicial killings or political assassinations.”

In October 2022, Mr Ruto promised an overhaul of the police service and announced the dismantling of the feared Special Service Unit, whose members have been accused of enforced disappearances and murders.

According to Missing Voices, 1,350 people have died at the hands of law enforcement officers since the group began collecting data in 2007.

Justice is rare, with few instances of police being held to account.

In February 2023, however, three police officers were sentenced for the 2016 murder of three people, including a lawyer. The officers faced sentences ranging from 24 years’ jail to the death penalty. AFP