Kenya’s police watchdog says it is looking into possible police participation in the horrifying find of dismembered remains disposed of in a Nairobi trash tip.
Following major anti-government rallies, the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) is investigating allegations of kidnappings and wrongful arrests of protesters who vanished.
At first, according to police, six women’s disfigured remains bound in plastic bags were discovered on Friday at a rubbish dump in an abandoned quarry in Mukuru, south of the city.
Later, the IPOA issued a statement stating that at least nine people’s bodies had been found, seven of whom were female, and urging prompt investigations to determine their identities.
The report said that the dumpsite was less than 100 yards (meters) from a police station and that the remains, which were wrapped in bags and held in place by nylon ropes, bore obvious signs of torture and mutilation.
After scores of people died during the protests last month, Kenyan police are coming under heavy criticism, with rights groups accusing them of employing excessive force.
Kenya’s president said on Friday that national police chief Japhet Koome, who was widely criticized by the public because of the protest killings, had resigned after less than two years in the position.
As President William Ruto tries to handle the largest crisis of his administration—which was brought on by very unpopular planned tax hikes—he is the most recent to fall from grace.
The catchphrase of the wave of demonstrations spearheaded by young Gen-Z Kenyans, “Ruto must go,” was being chanted by large crowds that assembled on Friday near the location where the deaths were discovered.
Though they are seldom found guilty, Kenyan police are feared and often accused of extrajudicial executions.
“Heinous crime”
Images on local media showed workers lifting bags carrying the human remains from the quarry dumpsite’s trash-strewn water with ropes.
“IPOA is actively and independently conducting preliminary inquiries to determine if there was any police participation in the killings, or failure to act to prevent them,” the agency said, as the police investigations are ongoing.
Without providing any details, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations said that initial findings indicated all of the deceased had been slain similarly.
The remains’ proximity to a police station was another point of worry raised by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, which expressed its “deep concern” about the findings that “point to a grave violation of human rights.”
It has also asked state institutions, such as the IPOA, to accelerate their investigations into claims of enforced disappearances and killings purportedly carried out by police. The police have been instructed to present the findings of their probe within 21 days.
The non-governmental Kenyan Human Rights Commission claimed that it was also calling for a “comprehensive investigation” to ascertain the reason for the fatalities and identify the perpetrators.
“The offenders must face consequences,” the post-Friday on X said. “William Ruto and the Kenya Kwanza regime must accept responsibility for this horrible crime.”
– Insufficient responsibility
Rights organizations often accuse Kenyan police of carrying out illegal executions and abusing disproportionate force, particularly in impoverished neighborhoods.
Additionally, they are said to have operated assassination squads that targeted individuals like attorneys and human rights advocates looking into claims of police abuses.
Despite Ruto’s prior promises to halt law enforcement agents’ violent and unlawful actions, there aren’t many instances of cops being held accountable.
The IPOA was created by Kenya’s parliament in 2011 to provide for civilian oversight of a significant organization that is also thought to be among the most corrupt in the nation.