Koome, Boinnet sued for 33 deaths after 2017 elections

Two civil society groups and a human right activist have filed a joint petition in court seeking justice for the victims of police brutality after the announcement of the 2017 General Election results.

Kenya National Human Rights Commission (KNHRC), Muslims for Human Rights (MUHURI) and human activist Khelef Khalifa have sued the former Inspector General (IG) of Police, Joseph Boinnet, current IG, Japhet Koome, then serving as Nairobi County Police Commander, Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) and the Attorney General for withholding important documents relating to the circumstances under which the victims were killed.

During the 2017 General Election, Retired President Uhuru Kenyatta was declared winner of the presidential poll on August 11 by the former chairman of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Wafula Chebukati sparking a wave of protests in areas zoned as opposition strongholds.

“Chebukati’s announcement triggered protests across Kenya, particularly in Opposition strongholds, as residents cited vote rigging. It didn’t take long before the police responded with firearms, batons, tear gas, and water canons, resulting in the tragic loss of dozens of Kenyan lives. Nairobi was severely hit, with a total of 33 deaths reported,” KNHCR said.

Compel Koome, IPOA

The petitioners also want the court to compel Koome and IPOA to disclose any legal action taken against police officers implicated in the killing of the victims.

Khalifa said in the petition that despite his formal requests, both the Inspector General and IPOA have refused to furnish him and the general public with information of any investigations, prosecution and actions taken regarding the 33 persons who died during the aftermath of the 2017 General Elections.

KNHRC, listed as an interested party alongside the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) and Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU) notes that Khalifa on January 24, sent a letter to IPOA requesting information about the agency’s actions following the 2017 police killings.

IPOA in its response delayed for about four months until April 12, replied that they were investigating only 15 cases, not all 33 as requested by the petitioner. The agency did not disclose the status of the investigations or provide reasons for not probing the remaining 18 deaths.

Reported deaths

“The Authority notes that 15 cases out of the list of 33 have been reported to the Authority and taken up for investigation. In order to provide you with a comprehensive status update on the cases, the Authority requests that you avail duly executed consents by the complainants or where applicable families of the deceased persons, consenting to have the Authority divulge information to you regarding the status of investigations into their complaints,” reads IPOA’s response

According to the petitioners, in the aftermath of the elections, there was widespread news and reports from human rights monitors (including the petitioners) showing that in responding to the protests that ensued, police officers used excessive, brutal and lethal force of firearms by shooting to death or causing the death of at least 33 people in Nairobi.

The victims, the majority of whom were residents of major slum areas of the capital, were either demonstrating and protesting against the announced presidential results, while some were simply in their homes and others were going about their daily businesses.

In July, Khalifa who also serves as a director on the MUHURI board wrote to Koome through a lawyer requesting information regarding investigations into the killings of the other 18 people who were not in the IPOA records.

“Our client (Khalifa) is deeply concerned that more than five years since the killings, the apparent failure to investigate and punish those crimes has bred impunity that is now in full display in the current shootings using live bullets in containing the ongoing maandamanos,” the letter read in part.

Despite the intervention of the Commission on Administrative Justice, the IG was not in a hurry to respond to the demands of the human activist who penned another letter, one month after in August to express his displeasure for the lack of response and threatened to sue Koome for withholding the information. Koome responded immediately saying that the law prohibits him from commenting on issues being investigated by IPOA.