Kenya dispatch: country reeling from brutal police response to anti-government demonstrations Dispatches
© Citizen TV Kenya
Kenya dispatch: country reeling from brutal police response to anti-government demonstrations

Aynsley Genga is a JURIST Senior Correspondent in Kenya. She files this dispatch from Nairobi.

What exactly is a country? Is a country its people, or is a country its government? Moreover, do the laws of a country exist to serve its citizens or do they exist to serve the whims of its government? And the biggest question of all, are there those who are more equal than others when it comes to matters affecting a country? Does the law of a country only protect a select few or does it exist to protect everyone? These are just some of the questions that have been going through people’s minds here since the beginning of the anti-government protests in March this year, and moreso now after the recent three-day protests that took place last week from Wednesday to Thursday.

According to Article 37 of the Constitution of Kenya (CoK), every person has the right, peaceably and unarmed, to assemble, to demonstrate, to picket, and to present petitions to public authorities. Moreover, section 29 of the CoK states that every person has the right to not be subjected to any form of violence from either public or private sources as well as not to be subjected to any torture in any manner, whether physical or psychological. The law is very clear when it comes to these two provisions, but despite this, the government has come out to declare it illegal to participate in any anti-government demonstrations. Since the beginning of March, the government through the police has gone on to ensure that fear is instilled in the hearts of people through their various acts of police brutality. Many citizens have been arrested despite them being peaceful. Some who were not even part of the protests have also been arrested simply because they were outside during the protests.

Acts of violence by the police against civilians have become part and parcel of demonstrations in Kenya. According to Azimio, the opposition party, there have been 50 deaths and hundreds of others being reported injured and admitted to hospitals. Today it was discovered that a student from Kajiunduthi High School was found dead in a bush following a night of running battles with the anti-riot police. The body of the student was discovered near Kiriani High School and his face was covered with physical injuries. Parents have been camping outside Kajiunduthi High School and have refused to leave until they find out the status of their children. Despite all these acts of police brutality, the government has not condemned the acts of the police. In fact, both President Ruto and his Deputy Gachagua have applauded the police and placed all the blame on the opposition party as well as it supporters for taking to the streets.

 

Arbitrary arrests have also become a norm during the protests, and last week many political figures in the Azimio party were arrested and taken into custody in areas out of the jurisdiction of the arrest. Many leaders such as Babu Owino were detained without being given reasons as to why they were being arrested. Babu was not only arrested but was denied food for three days and proper medical attention, despite his being unwell.  Babu’s struggles did not end there, though. Even after the court declared that he be released on bail, he was further re-arrested by the police when he was in the process of paying his bail while the media teams were chased from the scene in order to prevent further coverage of what was happening. The re-arrest took place after Babu had informed his supporters online of the police’s plan to re-arrest him. We also had Kalonzo Musyoko, one of the principles of Azimio, who was reportedly under house arrest throughout the entirety of the three-day protests last week. Raila’s bodyguard, Maurice Ogeta, was also arrested by the police on Wednesday the previous week. He was finally released by the police on Saturday when they abandoned him in the middle of a road in Ruai. According to Ogeta, he was questioned by men who identified themselves as Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officers. He claimed that he was mainly questioned on the whereabouts of Raila (Azimio leader) and his interrogators were very keen to find out what were his plans for the demonstrations. Ogeta stated that he did not eat or shower for the entirety of the three days that was detained. There was even the incident of former President Uhuru’s son’s home being raided by police on Friday night. The police believed that the son was in possession of illegal firearms, but Uhuru came out and condemned the acts of the police and stated how hurt he was by the situation. The former president also gave a reminder to Ruto that power does not last forever.

The arrests mentioned above are but a few examples of the political arrests that took place during the protests last week. Anyone of influence who was suspected to be a supporter of the protests was at risk of being arrested. To be honest, it was quite troubling to see. After all, none of these people were given any reasons for their arrests and they were subjected to solitary confinement, denied communication with their advocates and families and subjected to harsh treatment by the police. These acts go against article 49 of the CoK which covers the rights of an arrested person. Some of these rights include the right to communicate with an advocate, not to be compelled to make any confession that could be used against them and that the police are to ensure that person fully understands why they are being arrested. The article further states that every arrested person has the right to be released on bond or bail, on reasonable conditions, pending a charge or trial, unless there are compelling reasons not to be released. It is due to these provisions and actions of the police that the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) have come out to strongly condemn the acts of the police and the government. LSK have also been very involved in ensuring the release of those who were arrested during the protests. Eric Theuri, the chairman of LSK, stated that if government continues on with this trend then Kenya will definitely be going back to the ‘dark days.’

Another issue of concern that has slowly been raising its head among the public is equality. Article 27 of the CoK states that the government should treat everyone equally regardless of one’s race, sex, pregnancy, ethnic or social origin, disability or colour. Kenya is a country made up of more than 40 tribes. It is also a country that has been plagued with issues of tribalism/ethnic division. The issue was prevalent during the late Mwai Kibaki and Moi eras of presidency, and it has now started making a comeback during the reign of President Ruto. Sure, it was also an issue during the former President Uhuru’s time but it had calmed down a bit. Since Ruto became president, many have been complaining that a lot of government positions are being given to people of the Kalenjin tribe. Many have made jokes online about how they plan on changing their surnames to a Kalenjin name in order to have a high chance of employment. However, after the recent acts of police brutality against the people of Nyalendo (areas mainly populated by members of the Luo tribe), a slum in Kisumu County, many have been outraged by the government’s silence on the matter. As of Saturday, news of police going into the slums and indiscriminately attacking anyone on site spread like wildfire online. Children, women, men and even the elderly were attacked. No one was spared. The people were attacked despite them not even being involved in the protests. Their only crime was that they were of the Luo tribe, the same as Raila Odinga. Many are in hospital and most cannot even afford their medical bills. The scene was truly disheartening and it has even led to some people suggesting the idea of secession. Others were suggesting that war is the only answer since they feel that the government does not care about them. Others who belong to other tribes also started questioning, ” If this happened to the Luos in broad daylight, in today’s day and age then what is stopping the government from doing the same to other tribes? Are the Kalenjins the only ones who are safe? Are other tribes lesser?” The situation has definitely become very tricky and many are wondering what are Raila’s plans in regards to handling the police brutality situation. “Are we expected to simply continue demonstrating at the risk of our lives? Is there a plan to curb this or is Raila hoping for help from international bodies?” these are some of the questions that have been floating around online.

This week, Raila has announced that there will be no demonstrations. Instead Raila has asked Kenyans to hold a vigil on Wednesday for victims of police brutality. He also had a press briefing on Tuesday, 25th July, with the International Press Association of East Africa (IPAEA) to discuss the anti-government protests. Mentions of the International Criminal Court have also become prevalent since last week. Many Kenyans on Facebook could be seen commenting and pleading on the ICC page for the international court to do something about the injustices happening in Kenya. Moreover, Raila has also announced that they are assembling more evidence which Azimio will shortly present to the ICC with an appeal to open a file on State-sanctioned police atrocities in Kenya.

Opinions expressed in JURIST Dispatches are solely those of our correspondents in the field and do not necessarily reflect the views of JURIST's editors, staff, donors or the University of Pittsburgh.
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