The recent protests of the Finance Bill, dubbed #rejectfinancebill have been a stark reminder of the continued use of force and lack of accountability by the police.
Amidst the clamour for the lawmakers to reject the impugned bill, protesters were manhandled, roughened up, harassed, beaten and some unfortunately died.
According to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), about 40 people have lost their lives while scores remain injured.
More specifically, June 25 will forever be etched in the minds of many Kenyans who watched on live TV as protesters matched to #OccupyParliament where some were shot.
This resulted in a national and international outcry for the unrelenting brutality.
Still on the finance bill protests, there have been subsequent forced abductions and torture of people thought to have been leading the campaign.
Unfortunately, it is not known how many people so far have been abducted and released/not released.
Days of protests have become another way to showcase the much-needed police reforms in the country.
Police brutality during conflict goes way back to the 80s and the 90s during the Nyayo era when the police were used as a weapon against opposing citizens who fought for multipartyism.
Back then, anyone who fought the state was deemed unpatriotic and would often go ‘missing’ before resurfacing and in worse case scenarios being found dead.
Since then, electioneering periods have often been visited by cases of brutality against the opposition supporters.
In 2007, there were widespread atrocities committed in the country.
The said general elections period is infamous for ensuing spontaneous violence and crimes against humanity.
In 2017, the presidential election also was marred by serious human rights violations.
At least 12 people were reportedly killed and over 100 were injured.
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights also reported that at least 24 people died including one in Kisumu and 17 in Nairobi.
The numbers reported are most likely much higher, as the Kenyan media were slow in reporting on the violence and families were afraid to speak out.
Amongst the casualties included six-month-old Samantha Pendo who died in Nyalenda, an informal settlement in Kisumu.
This mirrors the current police brutality casualties where minors including a 12-year-old boy from Rongai have been shot dead.
A force by any other name is just as brutal.
It seems years of advocacy on police reforms and the need for the police to respect the rights of protesters have yielded very little considering the recent protests.
The brutalizing and killing of protesters in broad daylight had resulted in questions of accountability and the need to ensure the full force of the law comes into play as a deterrence measure for the rogue police.
This also brings into the spotlight ongoing cases of police brutality and state accountability such as the Baby Pendo case.
There is still a need to unearth other atrocities that may have been committed such as sexual violence, gang rape, robberies etc during the protests.
It has been a sad scene taking us back to the dark days when people fighting for their rights lost their lives altogether in the hands of an entity meant to protect and serve civilians.
Still, we will relentlessly fight to bring every ‘criminal officer’ to answer for their actions in the line of duty.
Aluta Continua!
Leah Aoko is the Programs Associate at UTU WETU TRUST