In the past year, there has been an increase in abuse and misuse of firearms by Kenyan police officers, a report by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) has stated.
According to the IPOA report, 3,200 cases of police abuse were reported in 2019, which was six times more than in 2013.
The Chairperson of IPOA Anne Makori pointed out that there is also a worrying trend in the usage of excessive force among the police in the country.
“IPOA has noted with a lot of concern that the misuse of firearms and use of excessive force continue to be the biggest challenge facing the National Police Service,” she stated.
Another report by Human Rights Watch global has revealed that Kenyan authorities have failed to discipline officers who use excessive force to disperse protesters.
Out of the 67 cases relating to police abuse that were taken to court by prosecutors in June 2019, only six suspects were convicted for their crimes.
Otsieno Namwaya, who is a Kenyan based researcher at Human Rights Watch, claimed that police officers cover up for their colleagues who have committed crimes.
“Police are supposed to provide a preliminary report and share that report with the inspector general of police, the internal affairs of the police and IPOA and then IPOA pick it up from there,” he noted.
Doreen Muthaura, who works for IPOA, added that in most cases, witnesses are afraid to testify.
“The challenge is witnesses coming forward for purposes of recording a statement,” she stated.