Are police trained to kill? Magistrate's 'advice' to activist sparks debate

A magistrate has triggered a heated debate following his remarks directed at  Boniface Mwangi, an activist, that police are trained to "kill people".

The remarks have been viewed by some court users and human rights lobby groups as distasteful.

In what some see as a way to discourage civic activism, Kibra Senior Principal Magistrate Samson Temu told Mwangi to start living for his people (family) and forget about Kenya.

“Tuliza ball. Why do you want these guys to kill you? You know these guys, we train them to kill people, not animals. I don’t know why you guys don’t know... By the time you confirm and convince them that you are not a thug, you are dead. So please Mwangi tuliza ball,” Temu said.

He said should Mwangi be killed, he would not even think that he was dead and cautioned him that it was not enough for him to die for Kenyans.

“You have your people who love you more than we do. You can die for us but that will not be enough. I will go home and I will not even think that you died but your people will think forever that you died. Can you start living for your people? Leave Kenyans to go their way. Be for your people. Or you don’t have a wife and children,” the magistrate said.

When Mwangi informed the court that his wife and son were present in court, the magistrate continued “Yes you should be having even your parents. Be for your people, forget about Kenya. Kenya will take care of itself with God.”

Mwangi was in court over an incident that happened on April 2 where he was allegedly assaulted by police officers and later presented in court on April 7  to face charges of “offensive conduct and assault”.

According to Mwangi, the officers found him at his office, handcuffed him aggressively, causing injuries to his hands and wrists, and dragged him out in front of colleagues and neighbours.

"He rained blows on me while another officer held me down. I only got relief when my colleagues began screaming and demanding they stop beating me,” he said.

On Friday, members of the legal fraternity, including former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga and former Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Nelson Havi weighed in on the matter.

Dr Mutunga wondered on what constitutional or legal grounds the personal advice was given.

“If this utterance is proven, the JSC must remove this judicial officer. And if the JSC does not do it,  the people have the ultimate sovereign power to do the right thing,” Mutunga said.

Lawyer Wahome Thuku argued that although the magistrate did not offend the Constitution, his boss Martha Koome made a career as a human rights activist.

"How about the magistrate who was shot and killed in Makadara by a police officer, inside a courtroom? Was she an activist? Wasn't she just minding her family as well?” Thuku wondered. 

Mwangi told the Saturday Standard that he was not shocked as he had heard similar sentiments before.

“He sympathised with me, and he spoke from a point of defeat, and his message from his understanding was simple: Kenya can’t, and won’t change and it’s not worth dying for. I was a victim of police brutality, and instead of the police arresting the culprit, it was me in the dock,” Mwangi added.

“What he said to me is what my friends and relatives say all the time. Give up. Kenya won’t change and l will die for nothing. It is a healthy debate that he has started and l don’t support the call for his removal. He had a human moment and spoke his truth.”

But the activist insisted that he would not give up on his fight for a better Kenya.

“If I were to give up, I would have given up at the hospital bed where I underwent three surgeries or at home where the police bombed,” he said.

The National Police Service has been under heavy criticism over the use of excessive force and the killing of Kenyans in the process.

Wilberforce Ochieng, a lawyer, argued that the duty and conduct of police officers are well outlined.

“The Constitution and the National Police Service Act allow police to use force, including lethal force, under specific circumstances. The use of firearms, in particular, is strictly regulated and should only be employed when less extreme means are inadequate. It is wrong and misleading to claim that police are trained to kill people,” Ochieng said.

According to Section 24 of the National Police Service Act, the functions of the Kenya Police Service include provision of assistance to the public when in need, maintenance of law and order, preservation of peace, protection of life and property, investigation of crimes, prevention and detection of crime and apprehension of offenders.

Ochieng noted that Sections 33, 36, and 37 of the Constitution of Kenya provide that everyone is guaranteed the right to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly and demonstration with an inherent duty on the State to ensure that demonstrators are protected from being subjected to unnecessary or disproportionate force and can freely exercise these rights.

Human rights lobby groups such as Amnesty International and the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (Ipoa) have in the recent past indicated that 60 people were killed by the police during the Gen Z protests last year while 600 protestors were arbitrarily arrested and detained, and dozens were forcibly disappeared during the anti-Finance Bill 2024 protests.

In August, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights reported that the police had killed at least 24 people nationwide, including one in Kisumu and 17 in Nairobi.

According to the Law Society of Kenya, the number of people killed by police during and after the Gen Z protests keeps rising, noting that the LSK was engaged in a rapporteur mission to seek more information from the grassroots.

Terming the magistrate’s remarks unfortunate, Vice President Mwaura Kabata described as a sad state of affairs the extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances.

“It is unfortunate that most of the victims are low-income earners. We have not heard these cases from high-income earners who live say in Runda and Karen. It is worrying that a judicial officer issues such remarks as it may be misconstrued to mean that they have taken a position, which seems to relate to the government,” said Kabata.

In 2013, after the Supreme Court affirmed President Uhuru Kenyatta's victory, Human Rights Watch documented at least five cases of unlawful police killings of demonstrators in Kisumu while in June 2016, police killed at least five and wounded another 60 demonstrators in Kisumu, Homa Bay, and Siaya counties who were calling for the firing of electoral commission officials implicated in cases of corruption abroad.

Between March and July 2023, 67 people were killed by police during the high cost of living and electoral reforms protests called by ODM leader Raila Odinga. Police were accused of using unnecessary physical force, conducting illegal home searches, and unlawfully using tear gas against protesters, bystanders, children, and individuals in their homes, businesses and on the streets.

In the infamous 2007-2008 post-election violence, more than 1,100 people were killed and another 650,000 displaced, according to the Human Rights Watch.

Last week, the UN highlighted significant human rights issues in Kenya, including concerns about the police's excessive use of force, arbitrary arrests, and the suppression of peaceful protests.

The report also indicated issues with enforced disappearances, torture, and harsh prison conditions. Furthermore, the UN has expressed concern over the weaponization of regulatory frameworks to silence dissent and the lack of accountability for human rights abuses by law enforcement. 

Yet another report by the US Congressional Research Service (CRS) cited President William Ruto as a president embroiled in human rights abuses that threaten to damage the country's international standing ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The CRS is a nonpartisan arm of the US Congress, which delivers an in-depth and authoritative analysis to help lawmakers shape foreign policy.