NAIROBI —
Kenya’s failure to hold police accountable for allegedly killing dozens of
people after the 2017 elections heightens the risk of officers abusing their
power during next week’s elections, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Tuesday.
اضافة اعلان
The US-based rights
watchdog said the Kenyan authorities had failed to investigate accusations of
police brutality or institute reforms, raising the threat of violence if the
results of the August 9 elections are disputed.
“The failure to
tackle police abuse in previous Kenyan elections risks emboldening them to
continue their misconduct around this year’s general election,” said HRW’s
director for East Africa, Otsieno Namwaya.
Kenyan police are
often accused by rights groups of using excessive force and carrying out
unlawful killings, especially in poor neighborhoods.
They have also been
accused in the past of running hit squads targeting those investigating alleged
rights abuses by police, such as activists and lawyers.
HRW said it had
documented the alleged killing of at least 104 people by police during the 2017
election, mostly supporters of then opposition leader Raila Odinga.
Heavily armed
police were deployed to disperse demonstrators after Odinga refused to accept
President
Uhuru Kenyatta’s victory.
“With just seven
days to another general election, Kenyan authorities have yet to take steps to
ensure justice for police abuses that characterized the 2017 general
elections,” the rights group said.
HRW said it had
interviewed activists, government officials, police officers, and victims’
families who voiced fears that law enforcers “would respond abusively” to any
violence or public protests if disputes arose after the vote.
‘Transparency and accountability’
On Tuesday, Kenyans will be electing a new president as well as hundreds
of members of parliament and about 1,500 county officials.
About 150,000
officers will be deployed to ensure the safety of the polls, police chief
Hilary Mutyambai has said.
This year’s
presidential vote is seen as a two-horse race between Deputy President William
Ruto and Odinga, who is now backed by Kenyatta and the ruling party.
With its diverse
population and large ethnic voting blocs, Kenya has long suffered politically
motivated communal violence around election time, notably after a 2007 poll
when more than 1,100 people died, scarring the nation’s psyche.
At least 16 civil
society groups on Tuesday called for a peaceful vote as they launched a
platform to monitor the polls, saying it would “increase transparency and
accountability”.
“We have synergized
our efforts and decided to coordinate ... to have a rapid and efficient
response,” said the head of election observer group ELOG, Anne Ireri.
The responsibility
for a peaceful poll should not only be reserved for the electoral agency, said
Felix Owuor, executive director of the Electoral Law and Governance Institute
for Africa.
“Collectively we
can have an election that is credible.”
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