Zainab Hassan

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) condemned the Kenyan security forces of forcibly making at least 34 people disappear within the past two years through abusive counter-terrorism operations in both Nairobi and north eastern Kenya. Kenyan authorities are responsible for the well-being and safety of their people and thus should be able to end the abuses in counter terrorism operations and promptly investigate the enforced disappearances and deaths of captives in the northeast, the report added.

The 87-page report, published earlier this month, “Deaths and Disappearances: Abuses in Counter terrorism Operations in Nairobi and in Northeastern Kenya,” endorses 34 instances in multi-agency security operations where the military was actively involved in searching homes and complexes to arrest people who were allegedly suspected of links with the extremist group, Al-Shabab. But months, and in some cases over a year later, suspects have been freed of any charges and any crimes and families still cannot locate them.

According to the Friday Bulletin, published by Muslims in Kenya, national outrage greeted the extra judicial killings of a human rights lawyer -Willie Kimani, his client – Josephat Mwenda and a taxi driver – Joseph Muiruri, when their bodies were later found dumped in a river in Ol Donyo Sabuk in Machakos county by Police officers.

Another body of a former Moi University student, Shukri Muhammad, was found dumped in Ol Donyo Sabuk in Machakos county – following his kidnap in Nakuru. Ol Donyo Sabuk, Machakos County.

Lawyers infuriated by the brutal killings have boycotted the court appearances and are pressing the resignations of the Interior Cabinet Secretary, Joseph Nkaissery, and the Inspector General of Police, Joseph Boinnet, who have been incriminated of doing little to stop the increasing cases of trigger happy groups within the police force.

Since 2012, hundreds of people have been killed while scores of others disappeared under mysterious circumstances never to be seen again. Many of these victims in relation to extra judicial killings, have been accused by the police of having links to terrorism and police officers chose to eliminate them rather than resort to the rule of law in Kenya.

The report mentions that “Concern for the well-being of the 34 people is compounded by at least 11 cases in the past two years in which dead bodies of people previously arrested by state agents have been found, in some instances far from the location of their arrest.” As far as Human Rights Watch is aware, “police have not meaningfully investigated these deaths. In one instance, a body was exhumed in Mandera in response to public demands, but the Government has not conducted an inquest or any meaningful investigations as required by Kenyan law.”