One out of three Kenyans has experienced torture and ill treatment by the police in the last five years.
A report released yesterday on torture indicates at least 30 per cent of Kenyans have been victims of torture once since 2011.
“This is an increase from the last survey carried out in 2011 where one out of four Kenyans had indicated that they were tortured at one point by the police or other agencies,” states the report released by the Independent Lego-Medico Unit (IMLU).
Local chiefs
The National Torture Prevalence Survey indicates the police are the main perpetrators of torture at 59 per cent, followed by local chiefs at 18.5 per cent which is an increase from 13.5 per cent in 2011.
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Prison warders are at 8.1 per cent, army 3.2 per cent, private guards 2.4, inmates in police cells or prisons at 2 per cent and Kenya Wildlife Service rangers at 7 per cent.
Additionally, the Administration Police were faulted for committing most of these acts, recording an 18 per cent torture rate and the county government security officers recording 8.1 per cent.
Peter Kiama, the Executive Director at IMLU said it was unfortunate a majority of the torture occurs in the context of law enforcement.
He said 39.4 per cent of the acts had taken place in police cells, 31.5 per cent at home, 21.6 per cent on the way to police cells and 19.6 per cent at the time of arrest.
Mr Kiama said cases of torture by AP officers were increasing at a time when they were also increasingly being involved in law enforcement.
“This is evidenced by the recent abduction, forced disappearance, and extra-judicial killing of lawyer Willie Kimani, his client and their taxi driver,” he said.
Mostly tortured
Mombasa and Nairobi are areas where residents are mostly tortured by regular police with Central region falling prey to AP officers.
In Nyanza and western regions, residents are scared of the local chiefs and in North Eastern, they claim to have been badly treated by Kenya Defence Force soldiers.
Police spokesperson Charles Owino, however, came to the defence of the police, saying the government was working towards addressing the issue.
