Mathare, Kibera residents claim hooligans taking advantage of security situation

The Kenya National Human Commission Rights (KNHCR) has reaffirmed that their work is based on due diligence and verification dismissing accusations that they relied on social media reports.

The commission has reported that there are cases of criminal elements taking advantage of the security situation in the affected parts of the country as members of the public have sought their intervention.

The commission’s chairperson Commissioner Kagwiria Mbogori has said they take time to observe and do research to establish facts mentioning the constant growth in the number of bodies at morgues during the protests against the August 8 polls outcome.

“One of the ways to know that excessive force has been used is when the body count keeps growing. Our work involves visiting mortuaries and finding out how many bodies have been brought and by who, the cause of the deaths,” said Kagwiria in an interview on KTN News.

She said by the time they commission went to press and reported on the 24 deaths, they had found 8 bodies with gunshot wounds at the City mortuary in Nairobi.

Kagwiria confirmed that the commission on Sunday night received numerous calls from members of the public alerting them of fear that they could be targeted by hooligans taking advantage of the deadlock in Mathare, Kibera, Lucky Summer and other parts of Nairobi.

She said they were investigating the reports.

Demonstrations broke out in various parts of the City on Friday night following the the declaration of Uhuru Kenyatta as the President elect after the Tuesday August 8 elections with agitated members of the public engaging law enforcers for several hours.

Nairobi County Commander Japheth Koome has however said the situation in the city is back to norm and that Kenyans are eager to get back to work. He said they had worked with officers to ensure life and property is protected.

Mr Koome said he is the commander in the operation and that there were no military officers deployed and no aid had been sought from the defense forces as had been rumored.

He termed claims that Mathare and other slum area were under attack as mere propaganda.KNHCR says their reports on killings are also based on interviews they conduct to obtain information from eyewitnesses and families of the deceased as they identify bodies of those killed in confrontations with the police.

Kagwiria says in any cases of death there has to be a proper probe into the loss of life so that the circumstances in which the death occurs are unraveled and understood.

The cases of those shot in the back to her could suggest one had been shot while running and it is easy for details of such killing to be disclosed.

 “We are a responsible commission and there is no exaggeration we have made in the reports we issued to the public. We do not seek to sensationalize but rather to stop the killings and the use of excessive force,” said Kagwiria.

Police through a statement on Sunday dismissed KNHCR reports that 24 people had been killed in the standoff accusing the constitutional commission of making unfounded claims with an aim of escalating tension in the country.

The law enforcers held that there were criminal cases who fired at the police officers while trying to effect arrests prompting their killing.