Let's intensify efforts to stop abduction, killing of suspects

The moment is predictable and familiar. Uniformed or plain clothed men confront you. Carrying weapons but no identification or arrest warrant, you will be forcibly dragged towards their car and unknown destination. This is usually the first instance in an enforced disappearance. Today marks the Day for the Protection of All Persons against Enforced Disappearances. Globally, governments and citizens are looking at ways to eliminate these incidents in future.

There were at least 43,250 unresolved cases across 88 countries in 2014. The forceful abduction and murder of persons has been classified as a human rights violation and an international crime since 2006. A UN convention was introduced to stop states and people from abduction, detention, torture and murder and hiding the bodies of victims. Kenya has signed the treaty but is yet ratify this international convention.

Forceful disappearances destroy the basic elements in the rule of law. They are designed to deny our right to freedom from torture,  legal representation, fair trial and equal protection under the law. It robs us of the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. Sadly, Kenya has its own experience of missing persons and unresolved murders. 

The Missing Voices website records at least 539 cases of missing persons between 2007 and 2019. Since January 2019, there have been 71 suspected enforced disappearances and police killings. On average, this works out to 10 incidents a month. Most of the victims are male, young and residents of Nairobi, Wajir, Garissa and Mombasa counties. Some of their cases have been linked to security agencies such as the National Police Service, Kenya Defence Forces and the Anti-Terror Police Unit. 

These figures are probably grossly under-reported if the crime reporting rate of five per cent  as indicated in this year’s economic survey is anything to go by. Ignorance of the law, fear of reprisal and profound lack of faith in the judicial system fuel the reluctance by families and witnesses to report these human rights abuses. But few, like the family and friends of Abdullahi Kassim Yusuf have the courage to demand answers.

Abducted on his way home on August 1, Abdullahi, the son of a retired Administration Police officer, ended up dead. Unarmed, he was killed by three bullets from an army officer stationed at the Garissa base. His case and others like Kibra resident Carilton Maina, were revisited this week in a series of activities across Dandora, Kibra, Kayole and at the National Museum in Nairobi, as well as Nyando in Kisumu.

Attended by hundreds, victims’ families, former criminals and legal experts shared a platform and their experiences. Civic organisations and artistes used rap music, spoken word, graffiti and dance to challenge the public’s complicity in disappearances and deaths. According to the participants, lack of awareness and not caring how the rule of law is applied leads to apathy by the public and hence, death of victims.

Apart from Kenya’s public awareness and support for these efforts, the UN convention and our laws offer state agencies strategies on how to hold our police, anti-terror and army officers accountable. More still needs to be done. The Office of the Attorney General can dust off the National Coroners Services Act and the Prevention of Torture Act and generate operational guidelines that breathe life into these important laws. An independent coroner service would ensure that all suspicious deaths are independently and professionally investigated, documented and resolved using forensic medical services. 

It is now mandatory for police officers to immediately report any death in their custody to the Independent Policing Oversight Authority. Officers are required by law to secure and preserve the scene of a death until a coroner arrives. Victims’ families must continue to demand the truth and seek justice and reparations for their loved ones. Our government can ratify the UN convention and accept long-standing requests from UN rapporteurs to visit Kenya and offer advise on how to reduce future incidences.

The courage of victims’ families, human rights activists and state officers to seek the truth and demand that the rule of law be applied is a sign that the UN Convention on Forced Disappearances has a heartbeat in Kenya. Last month, Nairobi City Mortuary declared it would no longer accept unidentified bodies from anonymous people, including police.

As the world marks the Day against Enforced Disappearances, government should re-double its efforts to stop abduction and killing of suspects. Violating our laws is not an effective way to respond to criminal gangs, violent crime or terrorism in urban poor areas, northeastern and coastal regions.

- The writer is Amnesty International’s executive director. [email protected]