The damning report accuses the police service of executing 85 people this year alone, while 181 people were killed last year.
NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 6 – Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet now says he is not aware of any extra-judicial killings in the country.
While responding to accusations detailed in a report by the Independent Medico-Legal Unit, the police boss said he specifically needs to know the context in which they came to their conclusion.
The damning report accuses the police service of executing 85 people this year alone, while 181 people were killed last year.
“To put this into more perspective, last year (2014) we recorded a total number of 199 people killed by police. Out of these, 181 were summarily executed, 14 were shot to protect life and four were killed in unclear circumstances,” reads the report.
The organisation urged Governors and County Commissioners to hasten the establishment of the County Policing Authorities as the vehicles for enhanced cooperation between police and citizens.
They also argue that this will enhance accountability for police action, welfare and capacity of police officers.
“These statistics put into question the commitment of the National Police Service to the respect of the right to life prescribed under Article 26 of the Constitution and the assumption of innocence until proven guilty by an impartial judicial process,” IMLU executive director Peter Kiama said.
“We urge legislators to rise above partisan and parochial interests and reject laws meant to promote impunity and reduce police accountability such as the proposed amendments to the National Police Service Act 2011 as contained in The Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill, 2015.”
IMLU regretted that police reforms in the country are being undertake in a sluggish manner calling for the need to change the trend.
Boinnet has since launched a countrywide police transformation agenda, in line with the proposed police reforms targeting both senior and junior police officers.
READ: Boinnet pushes for a united police service
In the agenda, Boinnet hopes to have a people’s centred police service.
He also wants all the units within the National Police Service to work in harmony as any disintegration will hamper the war against terror.
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