Rights groups and relatives have accused Kenyan authorities of a
cover up of dozens of alleged police killings, unexplained
abductions, and illegal detentions related to these anti-government protests
known as the Gen Z protests because of the young
people involved. The body of 19 year old Charles
Oino lies in the street, killed by a gunshot
to the head, according to an autopsy report seen
by Reuters, but police recorded his death as a
road accident in the Mor logbook. His brother told
Reuters. The National Police Service did not reply to
questions about four such cases examined by Reuters. The
battered body of another protester, Denzel Armondi, was
found in a pond at an abandoned quarry on Nairobi's
outskirts 9 days after he disappeared. The autopsy report
, seen by Reuters, detailed hyperinflated lungs as well
as bruises on his head, neck, forearm,
and knees. It recorded the death as drowning,
but something else happened first, the family said.
They said Kenya's IPOA watchdog, which probes cases of
police brutality, has promised to investigate. Omandi's mother
Judida Obora went to the the parliament during demonstrations.
And he was one of the Gen Zs who went
there following the video which came up on the social
media. And after that, the boy went missing
. Reuters spoke to three police officers who work in
a unit deployed during protests. They described police covering
their tracks by mischaracterizing deaths caused by officers as accidents
, drownings, or mob justice. Thousands of young
Kenyans took to the streets against tax hikes and political
corruption from late June to December. Deputy President Kithora
Kindiki has said 42 people were killed in a police
response that rights groups say involved firing live rounds.
Kenya's National Commission on Human Rights, which is government
funded, also recorded 82 enforced disappearances, 29 of
which remain unaccounted for. The officers who spoke to
Reuters about their work requested anonymity to speak about the
subject. One policeman described working undercover during the protests
to organize abductions. Me as an officer, I'll
be sent there to pretend I'm there but undercover.
Here is the person. Take their number. I
can even send him or her money and talk about
going back for protests the next day. At this
point, I would have got them. The police
did not respond to questions about these allegations. Bob
Nergi is a high profile rights activist who took part
in the protests. He said he was held for
a month sustaining these injuries. During these 30 days
, I was only fed once a day. A
very small meal of ugali, that is corn and
uh cabbage. And a cup of tea in the
morning, OK? Uh. I was allowed to
take a shower once a week, um, every
7 days. But my handcuffs remained intact both day
and night. Naya of Human Rights Watch says Kenyan
police are required to take those arrested to stations,
then caught. What we are seeing are people in
plain clothes hiding their faces, basically covering their faces
. They abduct people in a very violent, threatening
or scary way. And then they don't even take
them to police stations. So in the first place
, those things should not be happening. But because
it has happened, we need accountability. The offices
of Kenyan President William Ruto, his deputy president,
and the Interior Ministry did not respond to requests for
comment. In a late December speech, Ruto acknowledged
instances of excessive and extrajudicial actions by members of the
security services. Yeah