Rogue officers: The systematic impunity behind police brutality

Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen with IG Douglas Kanja and DIG Eliud Lagat in a consultation. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

They are everywhere, on patrol, armed and sworn to protect Kenyans. Yet it is in the very hands meant to guard citizens that Kenyans are losing lives.

Innocent Kenyans are shot in the middle of their ordinary lives. Others are harassed, brutalised, and those “lucky” enough to survive arrest and dragged into police cells, where danger still looms because even in police custody, death still finds them.

The streets are not safe, police hands are not safe, and it is no longer about isolated incidents, or rogue officers, police brutality has now grown into a pattern.

Every sunrise comes with fear that somewhere, a trigger-happy cop will pull the gun, another innocent person will fall and another family will be plunged into grief. Kenyans are now forced to ask, who will save and protect them? Police? Probably not.

And Kenyans are tired. From the sleepy villages to the bustling cities, police brutality and extrajudicial killings remain a grim and persistent crisis in Kenya, eroding public trust and leaving trails of grief and unanswered questions.

Despite constitutional safeguards and repeated government pledges to reform the security sector, reports of fatal encounters, enforced disappearances, and violent crackdowns continue to surface with alarming regularity.

Barely days after more than 10 police officers attacked young men playing pool in Nandi Hills, a police officer in Karatina fatally shot an unarmed young man on Sunday night after an altercation. Postrmortem report says George Gathu Matheri was shot four times, one on the head and three on the chest.

The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) says it launched an urgent investigation into fatal police shooting that sparked immediate public protest and road blockades.

IPOA Chairperson Ahmed Issack Hassan said the authority learned that George Gathu Matheri was fatally shot at approximately 11 pm on January 18 following a confrontation with officers on patrol from Karatina Police Station.

“In a swift initial action, the police officer suspected of firing the fatal shot has been arrested and detained pending arraignment in court,” says Hassan.

The shooting ignited significant community anger, leading residents to barricade the Nairobi-Karatina highway, paralysing traffic and resulting in acts of property vandalism.

Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU), Executive Director Grace Wangechi said many officers misunderstand, or deliberately disregard, their mandate to protect civilians.

“What we are seeing is total negligence by officers in understanding their mandate. They are using excessive force while carrying out their duties, yet there is no action taken to stop this brutality,” said Wangechi.

“They behave as if they are the total authority, doing whatever they want and getting away with it. This results in loss of public trust, where people entrusted to protect us are instead meting out violence," she added.

Wangechi criticised police leadership for failing to move beyond public assurances, calling on the Inspector-General to take decisive action.

“Cases take too long to be concluded. Families get frustrated. IPOA should expedite investigations, and the ODPP should prosecute these cases as fast as possible,” said Wangechi.

She said the problem reflects a system failure rather than gaps in training. “It is a disregard of the law, knowing there will be a way out,” she said.

Human Rights lawyer Abel Nabutola says police brutality and killings stems from the top of the police hierarchy.

“The problem starts from the top. The CS Interior was captured by the media saying he will defend any officer who shoots a Kenyan. The DCI under leadership of Mohamed Amin has been implicated in so many cases of kidnapping, brutality and death of Kenyans.

These are officers who have seen their bosses get away with murder, literally, so they are emboldened and they know nothing will happen to them,” says Nabutola in reference to the lack of action that was taken by DIG Eliud Lagat, even though he was a person of interest in the murder of school teacher Albert Ojwang.

Policemen caught on CCTV brutalising Nandi residents. [Courtesy]

Ojwang was murdered last year in Central Police cells by strangulation. Police initially claimed Ojwang died by suicide by hitting his head on the cell walls.

“They aren't scared of consequences because there are no consequences to face. The script is always the same, the police spokesman will issue a press release condemning the brutality, and promise action. Say the officers involved will be arrested and charged and Kenyans in their typical fashion, forget so fast and move on. On the trail of these police killings are widows, and fatherless children who have lost a loved one and livelihood and futures destroyed,” said Nabutola, adding that the rot starts from the top.

“The president publicly told police officers to shoot Kenyans. That is an illegal order, and the same way he said it publicly, he should also rescind the order publicly, because the police have taken it to heart. The CS in charge of Interior should have an urgent meeting with police bosses to find a solution to the rising tide of criminal behaviour from police. Kenyans are dying like flies and the police have no regard for human life.”

Attempts to get quotes from the Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen through his communications team proved futile.

However, the Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja says, “The officer in the Karatina case was arraigned in court and a custodial order was given to hold the officer for 14 days as investigations continue. Beyond investigations and other judicial interventions, the service is taking the mental well-being of our officers seriously.”

He added: “We have deployed psychological support teams at various levels to provide counselling, stress management and early intervention as part of our commitment to preventing incidents of brutality and unlawful use of firearms,” says IG Kanja.

Human rights defender Cyprian Nyamwamu says the rising cases of police brutality is a worrying trend and elected leaders seem to turn blind eye to the plight of Kenyans.

“As the conveyor of Kenya Bora Tuitakayo initiative, we demand that a joint Committee session of the National Assembly and Senate Committees on Security and National Administration be convened urgently to demand a detailed report from the NPS, the IG himself, IPOA, KNCHR and members of the public on the spike in cases of police harassment, gross violations of human rights and excessive use of force across the country.”

The incident in Karatina adds to a long list of cases that have strained police-community relations in Kenya, where IPOA’s role as an independent investigator is often scrutinised.

In a case that shocked the nation and the legal community, human rights lawyer Willie Kimani, his client Josephat Mwenda, and their driver Joseph Muiruri were abducted after a court hearing in Mavoko, Machakos County, in June 2016.

Their bodies, showing signs of torture, were found dumped in a river in Oldonyo Sabuk. Four police officers were later convicted of their murder.

During protests against new taxes in Nairobi in July 2024, a young man was captured on video being violently assaulted by plain-clothed officers in the central business district. He was later identified as Rex Kanyike, who succumbed to his injuries.

On the night of March 30, 2020, in the Mathare informal settlement, Nairobi, police enforcing the newly imposed dusk-to-dawn curfew shot and killed 13-year-old Yassin Hussein Moyo.

He was standing on his family's balcony. Another man, John Ngaruiya, was beaten to death in Kianjai, Meru County, for allegedly violating the curfew.

During a chaotic curfew enforcement operation in Githurai 44, Nairobi, on the night of June 4, 2020, police opened fire on a crowd, killing at least two people. Video footage showed officers shooting at point-blank range and assaulting citizens.

In March 2023, a popular TikToker known as "Sniper" was abducted by individuals believed to be police officers from a bar in Kitengela, Kajiado County.

His body was later found in a thicket in Kajiado East with multiple gunshot wounds. His family alleged police involvement due to his vocal online activism.

In August 2021, in Kianjokoma, Embu County, two brothers, Benson Njiru Ndwiga, 22, and Emmanuel Mutura Ndwiga, 19, were arrested for allegedly violating curfew. Their bodies were discovered at the Embu Level 5 Hospital morgue, bearing severe injuries. Six police officers were charged with their murder.

Despite the highly publicised and open cases of police brutality and killings, the studious silence from President William Ruto, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen and PS Raymond Omollo has left many Kenyans questioning who will protect them against rogue police officers. The president and his entire security apparatus remain quiet, while Kenyans die.

Rights group also say that the National Police Service is a mental case? According to rights groups the incidents are no longer isolated but symptoms of a deeper institutional crisis, leading to the question; are these acts purely about indiscipline and impunity, or do they also reflect a police service grappling with unresolved mental health challenges?

Faith Nafula Atsango, a counselling psychologist, argues that while brutality cannot be excused, it cannot be understood without interrogating the psychological and systemic pressures officers operate under.

According to Nafula, police officers are trained to enforce the law, not to inflict pain or kill unnecessarily. 

“If someone is unruly, there is a way you are trained to deal with such a person. You don’t inflict pain, you don’t harm, you don’t kill. But we have had cases where a police officer just snaps. Maybe it is a build-up from frustrations at work, at home, or at a personal level,” she said.

She explained that unresolved psychological stress can be triggered in moments of confrontation, especially when an officer encounters behaviour that mirrors their own personal struggles.

“Instead of dealing with their own mental issues, they go to work and unleash the frustration on the people they are supposed to protect,” Nafula said.

Nafula said that ignoring mental wellness within the service is dangerous both to civilians and to officers themselves.

According to her, the stigma attached to police recruitment standards may also feed resentment.
 “There is this thing of 'this is a D student,’ so people look down upon them. Some officers feel belittled, and unconsciously think, ‘Let me teach them a lesson'," she said.

Without proper psychological screening, continuous evaluation and counselling, Nafula warned that burnout and depression go unchecked. 

“Mental health has been stigmatised. Officers fear being seen as weak. But unless we address this, lives will continue to be lost, civilians and police alike,” Nafula said.

Hussein Khalid, the executive director of Vocal Africa, argued that mental health alone cannot explain the scale and frequency of police violence. 

“It is extremely concerning when individuals responsible for our security are the ones violating the right to security. The worst part is that it is happening rampantly. These are not isolated cases," said Khalid.

Khalid pointed to repeated delays in investigations by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), and the courts, which he said discourage accountability.

“The evidence is often overwhelmingly clear, but justice drags. Many victims and families give up," he said.