Investigate revelations by BBC expos and take urgent action

**An anti-riot police officer kicks away a tear gas canister during a demonstration against the government in Nairobi, Kenya. August 8, 2024.** [Tony Karumba, AFP]

President Ruto should end police brutality to repair the government's damaged image.

The BBC Africa Eye's exposé revealing the macabre killing of protesters during the Gen Z protests in the country last year is yet another damning indictment on the police service and by extension President William Ruto's Kenya Kwanza government. The exposé, dubbed 'Blood Parliament,' has brought to light the brutal manner in which the lives of unarmed young people were cut short by rogue officers as they were exercising their constitutional right, protesting against the Finance Bill 2024.

The trigger-happy security officers were captured on camera executing the heinous acts that have, up to now have been swept under the carpet by the government. It is indeed disturbing to watch the exposè, which appears like a scene straight from a horror movie, and see how the victims were shot at close range, bringing their lives to an abrupt end.

In one of the chilling incidents, 27-year-old Eric Shieni, by then a student at the University of Nairobi, was shot in the head from behind as he was fleeing from Parliament grounds. According to the BBC, he was unarmed and therefore not a threat to the security officers. The officers, the exposé further revealed, could be seen aiming at the protesters, a clear indication they intended to kill. Two more young people in the crowd of protesters are seen being felled by police bullets. Even more disturbing is that an unidentified KDF soldier was said to have been involved in the killing, yet it is not a norm for KDF to be involved in such operations, let alone harm civilians.

Much as the National Police Service would be quick to discredit these damning revelations, the sad reality is that scores of innocent young people lost their lives in the protests. The government acknowledged this fact, even though it differed with human rights bodies over the number of those shot dead by police officers. The resignation of the then Inspector General of Police, Japhet Koome, at that time was a clear indication that the police service had failed to live up to its expectations in dealing with the protests.

According to the then interior Cabinet Secretary and now deputy president, prof Kithure Kindiki, 42 lives were lost and 132 protesters went missing. Human Rights bodies revealed that over 61 lives were lost. Dishearteningly, even with the admission by the State that lives were lost in the hands of the security officers, no one has been brought to book despite the hackneyed promise of investigations. Unfortunately, the BBC exposè has to remind the country of the injustice that innocent Kenyans suffered and the apparent inaction of the State.

Much as the explosive documentary's veracity could be subject to scrutiny, it exposes the soft underbelly of Kenya's security system, which continues to be dogged by serious claims of police brutality and extrajudicial killings. The State's decision to ban the screening of the documentary in Nairobi only served to raise more eyebrows.

It is remembered that at the height of the protests, Ruto shocked the nation when he initially called the protesters treasonous criminal elements, yet now, according to the BBC exposé, the slain protesters were clearly unarmed and were even running away from the police officers.

Police brutality during the Gen Z protests was not isolated. Similar complaints of police excesses have continued to bedevil Ruto's government. A status report released recently by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority on the violent protests showed that, of the 60 deaths under investigation, 41 involved gunshot wounds, pointing to police culpability.

The country was recently treated to a disturbing wave of abductions and forced disappearances, which had tell-tale indications of police involvement. Shockingly, the President and his allies appeared to justify the abductions and forced disappearances by calling out the youth for what they termed as immorality and disrespect to leaders.

Instead of rubbishing the BBC exposé, the government should thoroughly investigate the officers who have been adversely mentioned, and if found culpable, be held accountable for the lives lost. Police brutality must not be normalised, and justice for the victims should at the very least be seen to be served. The buck stops with the President. He needs to act decisively against this wave of police brutality and repair the damaged image of his government.