On Tuesday October 7, 2014 officers from the Kangemi Police station responded to a call in a Dagoreti bar of someone with a gun. News reports indicate that upon arrival they ordered everyone out. An Administration Police Corporal, Joseph Obong'o, attached to Bomachoge MP Joel Onyancha was among the patrons of the club and was indeed the one whose gun had been spotted by a waitress. What followed is the subject of this petition. Corporal Obong'o had just dropped off his boss at the airport to attend President Uhuru Kenyatta's status conference at the ICC in The Hague. Witness accounts show that he properly identified himself to the police officers as an AP officer and provided his IDs, he did not resist arrest or confront his fellow law enforcement officers. Instead, the responding offices, one of them allegedly identified as JOSPHAT YAMBEI KIPKOECH, killed him and his cousin.
http://mobile.nation.co.ke/news/Police-Shooting-Dagoretti-Crime-Nairobi/-/1950946/2478602/-/format/xhtml/-/4tubke/-/index.html According to witnesses, "The officers searched him and when they found his Ceska pistol, one of them took it and shot him in the head with it. The other policeman used his own gun to shoot Makori's companions." This event reads like a horror movie only that this actually did take place. The repercussions of the senseless killings are far reaching, a lifetime of agony for the victims' loved ones, I mean just watching Corporal Obong'o father narrate his agony is itself gut-wrenching, the sorrow in his voice, the pain and hopelessness in his face makes me cry, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgJ7q6Afr40 , and all for what? For what? Why??
Just two months ago in Kwale County, police burst into a house in the dead of night and killed an innocent 14 year old girl, Kwekwe Mwandaza, in cold blood. These are just but the few that make the headlines but the truth is Kenya Police kill hundreds if not thousands of innocent victims every year and cover their crimes in the guise of fighting crime. In all these extrajudicial killings, police and their bosses are first to run to the media to dismiss public outcry by blaming the victims instead. I don't want to paint the entire police force in bad light at all because I believe most are good hardworking officers with families and loved ones like the rest of the community they serve but clearly the few bad apples are tainting the entire force and for far too long now nothing is being done about it, there appears to be an implicit endorsement of their actions by the country's leadership, there are no ethics or self-restraint at the Kenya Police at all, they come across as a bunch of official badged rambunctious remorseless schoolyard bullies who have taken into human killing as a hobby. Their bosses are quick to defend their lawlessness even without any perfunctory review or investigation of facts and that has to stop. In the case of Kwekwe Mwandaza, just like in Corporal Obong'o's killing, police supervisors were the first to blame the defenseless victim, even the "Directorate of Criminal Investigations" which is by all intents and purposes, another extension of the Police only recommended a "public inquest" into her murder. Can you believe that? Even after their "investigations", they still wanted public investigations, how perverted is that? It took sustained public outcry for the Director of Public Prosecutions, Keriako Tobiko, to order charges against the officers, http://www.nation.co.ke/news/Two-policemen-to-be-charged-with-murder-of-Kwale-girl/-/1056/2479362/-/9vnu2oz/-/index.html . That should never ever be the case at all.
Dereliction of Duty:
It is clear something is terribly amiss at the top of the police brass and above. These officers wouldn't be killing folks willy-nilly unless they knew they will get away with it. The leadership has set the tone set at the top that has made it possible for the police to kill innocent Kenyans; whether it is poor training, poor sanctions against rogue cops, tacit or even overt endorsement of the killings or all of the above- the fact is top leadership is either sleeping at the wheel or harboring, aiding and abetting murderers and lawlessness amongst its ranks. The question now why is the Kenyan government derelict in its duty to protect its citizens from the tyranny amongst its ranks? Where is President Uhuru Kenyatta in this? Why is Jubilee permitting its officers to harm innocent Kenyans instead of protecting them? Sport killings of innocent Kenyans are a clear sign of poor leadership from the top, why? Who gave the police the authority to play God? Why do they always act as if they are above the law or are they? What authority do they have that supersede the judicial system and due process? Police have not been effective in protecting Kenyans from terrorists, many of whom terrorize Kenyans with the full knowledge and complicity of some security apparatus, so now they are turning on innocent Kenyans too?
Wake-up Call:
Cases of extra-judicial killings and brutality by the Kenyan police are rampant, not too long ago Kenyans were promised a reformed police force and also promised that the new constitution would protect their civil liberties and rights to life for everyone. Corporal Obong'o and his relatives' murder is a wakeup call for all us wherever we may be stationed. This could be any one of us or our loved ones and there has to be a stop. Enough is enough. To President Uhuru Kenyatta I say take charge Sir before others do it for you. The Jubilee administration must restrain its uniformed force and instil discipline in them, the sanctity of human life is non-negotiable and must be respected at all times. Kenya's police force has repeatedly demonstrated its inability to protect citizens from outside threats and we know why, they are busy killing innocent Kenyans instead, its ineptitude has precipitated travel advisories by Western governments which in turn have adversely affected the economy by way of severely reduced tourism. Do these guys even connect the dots? These are your salaries guys. When the rest of world reads such recklessness and callous acts by the Kenyan Police, it reinforces its perception of insecurity in the country and tourists become more averse to visiting Kenya. It is just that simple.
Government on Notice:
I don't want this to be just another headline story, enough is enough! I expect the Jubilee government to own up to these follies and say "enough is enough" too. One innocent death in the hands of police is one death too many. I say we put the government on notice that these crimes by the police will NOT be tolerated any more. I call on DPP Tobiko to initiate investigations into Corporal Obong'o and his relatives' murder promptly to mitigate further erosion of confidence in the force; I expect to see prosecutions commence shortly to restore some trust in the government itself. Inspector General David Kimaiyo must clean his act and retool the police force- train these otherwise good men and women to uphold the rule of law, not break the law, to respect human lives and not waste them, dismiss errant officers and those who break the law, prosecute them- that is the only way to maintain peace through a lawful and orderly society.
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