The agents are implicated in the murder of a six-month-old baby during the electoral violence of 2017
Oct. 28 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, has applauded the indictment of senior Kenyan police officers for crimes against humanity during the wave of violence in the 2017 general elections.
In what is the first time that the country uses the International Crimes Law to try this kind of crimes in its own courts, the Prosecutor’s Office has charged several agents with crimes of rape, torture and murder, especially that of the newborn Samantha Pendo, whose head was crushed by riot police in her mother’s arms in the city of Kisumu.
The officers charged include a Police Commissioner, a Senior Police Superintendent, a Deputy Superintendent, a Chief Inspector, an Inspector, six Police Inspectors, a Senior Sergeant and a Sergeant, according to the Kenyan newspaper ‘The Nation’.
During the 2017 electoral period, the National Commission for Human Rights in Kenya documented 94 murders, 201 cases of sexual violence and more than 300 injuries, the majority attributed to the repression of the security forces.
“The decision is a positive step towards justice for the survivors and the families of the victims,” said Turk on Friday.
It must be remembered that two weeks ago, the new president of Kenya, William Ruto, ordered the dissolution of the Special Services Unit (SSU) of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) after suggesting that it could have been involved in extrajudicial executions and forced disappearences.
The charges against the officers were brought after an investigation by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Independent Monitoring and Supervision Authority, with the participation and assistance of the Kenya National Human Rights Commission, civil society organizations, victims and witnesses.
The UN Human Rights Office supported this process, as part of its partnership with government institutions in efforts to promote accountability for serious human rights violations.
The High Commissioner underlines, in this regard, his “continued commitment to support the efforts of the Government of Kenya to promote accountability for serious human rights violations, including the commission of extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances.”
