Police must stop use of force on protesters
By Editorial.Team, July 24, 2023The ongoing protests have claimed more than a dozen lives most of them blamed on the police. Given the fact that the country is braced for protests, there is growing concern that more lives could be lost unless police conduct changes.
The Kenya Kwanza administration has come to the defence of the police despite calls against use of brutal force. This has emboldened the officers.
The role of the police is to protect life and property during the demonstrations. The Constitution allows Kenyans to picket in expression of dissent over one grievance of the other.
Article 37 says that every person has the right to peaceably and unarmed to assemble to demonstrate to picket and to present petitions to public authorities. The major contention is whether the demonstrations called by the Opposition over the high cost of living have been peaceful.
There is no doubt that the protests have been largely violent and have been exploited by dubious characters to destroy private and public property. This is unacceptable. It is particularly disturbing that both the police and the organisers of the demos have refused to take responsibility for the continued loss of lives.
But the fact that most of the dead bear bullet wounds is indicative that police are the cause of the lost lives. We demand immediate de-escalation in the use of force in responding to demonstrations, particularly the application of the principles of necessity and proportionality by police.
Police should only use force as a last resort or in self-defence when their lives are faced with grave danger. We also noticed that the response to the demonstrations has been partly characterised by plain-clothed armed officers, using pistols and unmarked police cars.
Investigations by the Human Rights Watch found that the authorities deployed riot police who repeatedly attacked people or otherwise used excessive and unnecessary force, including lethal force, to suppress the protests. The lobby documented killings, illegal arrests, beatings, destruction of civilian property, indiscriminate and disproportionate use of tear gas and water cannons and other serious rights violations.
As media, we particularly alarmed by police officers posing as journalists. This is likely to put the lives of media practitioners in danger. We ask the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) to urgently conclude investigations into all deaths and the apparent unjustified use of force by the officers.
Meanwhile, we urge protestors to practise restraint and respect property.