Various Human Rights groups in Kenya accused the anti-terror police of terrorizing citizens through kidnappings and extra-judicial killings.
According to the Star on Friday, April 22, relatives of victims of kidnappings and torture pointed the accusing fingers at the police unit because the perpetrators tended to be unidentified people and sometimes plain cloths officers.
They tallied off five missing people who had been taken forcefully from various locations with one of them being found dead four days later.
“Shukri Mohamed, 24, a Moi University student went missing on April4 only to be found on the eigth, mutilated and dumped in a river in Ol Donyo, Kiambu County,” said his relatives as quoted in the Star.
The National Muslim Leaders’ Forum chair Abdullahi Abdi said that the unexplained killings and disappearances were unacceptable considering that scenarios indicated that state agencies were involved.
“Jungle law reigns supreme over the constitution and the rule of the law,” added Abdi.
This was echoed by the Independent Medico Legal Unit executive director Peter Kiama who called on the state agencies to explain the disappearances.
“This is a grave concern that the government must explain. The directorate of criminal investigation should take upon itself to investigate what is happening. Many families remain in agony and are traumatized,” said Kiama.
Among victims mentioned included Abdallah Waititu, a pharmacist and officer at Pumwani hospital in Nairobi who was kidnapped by ‘men in black’ in Machakos County on April 4.
Athman Mohamed, 23, and a returnee from Somalia was taken on March 20 as he left the mosque with his two children after afternoon prayers.
Ali khamis was taken on December 20 in Eastleigh as he left his workstation at Madina Hospital.
Despite these calls, it is highly unlikely that any investigations into these disappearances would be contacted as a month ago, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority released a report which explained how law enforcement officers shield each other to avoid prosecution.
The top three methods they use included criminalizing the victim, planting firearms and weapons on victims, and altering the cause of death of a victim
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