Police brutality victims and their families deserve justice

Members of the panel of experts on compensation of victims of protests led by Prof Makau Mutua were sworn in at KICC on September 4,2025. [Benard Orwongo, Standard] State House and Vigilance House appeared misaligned this week. A rise in civilian deaths in police custody and limited progress in the Baby Pendo case weeks after the Experts Panel on victim compensation was sworn in, raise serious doubts about the justice system's commitment to public safety and accountability. Sworn in on September 4, the Presidential Panel of Experts was halted four days later by Levi Munyeri's petition on September 8. Victims must now await an October 6 ruling by Justice Kizito Magare on its legality to verify and recommend compensation for protest-related police brutality between 2017-2025. The Panel is also tasked with memorialising victims and proposing legal reforms to prevent future violence. The June 8 killing of Homa Bay teacher Albert Ojwang (31) in police custody and the clumsy attempts to cover it up were horrifying. Yet, this month saw two more deaths. Trader Samson Wanda (35) was allegedly beaten to death by prison officers in Kitale. Simon Warui (26) was found dead in a Mombasa police cell after travelling from Nairobi. His family buried him after a postmortem yesterday. As Samson and Simon's families mourn, elsewhere in Kisumu survivors of police violence, victim's families and witnesses welcomed the High Court's decision to move the 2017 Baby Pendo case closer to where the violence occurred. The transfer will ease access for survivors and support key processes like crime scene visits. While a positive development, the bigger issue remains. Sixty victims have waited eight years for accountability, justice and compensation. Hampered by multiple defence applications, the inability of 100,000 police officers to affect a court order and apprehend the 11th accused retired police officer Mohamed Baa and the ODPP's May decision to drop charges against eight of the more senior twelve officers, the case has yet to start. Mohamed Baa's three-year-old hide and seek games leave survivors and witnesses feeling unsafe. The court's refusal this week to allow for his photo to be publicly displayed was a missed opportunity. The police's failure to enforce his arrest warrant undermines the process and survivors' trust in state protection. The National Police Service must enforce the arrest warrant for Mohamed Baa and bring him to court for a fair trial. The Judiciary must set clear trial timelines, and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions must prevent further procedural delays. As the trial moves to Kisumu, the Judiciary, ODPP, Independent Policing Oversight Authority and Witness Protection Agency must ensure victims and witnesses can participate safely and freely, with adequate protection. Having listened several times to victims, witnesses and even police officers, the killing, rape and torture of Baby Pendo and other civilians by police officers is not in doubt. The real public interest question is whether Kenya's justice institutions will hold those responsible to account with or without the Panel of Experts. Attending the launch of the IPOA Strategic Plan 2025-2030 recently, the gap between investigations, prosecution, justice and closure for those affected remains too wide. Criminals, in and out of uniform, walk unafraid through our neighbourhoods, police stations and courts. Despite the 6,366 IPOA files before the ODPP, 262 cases in our courts and 39 recent convictions, too many law enforcement officers still think the chances of seeing the inside of a prison are slim. As this column has long argued, and if given the chance to keep the Panel of Experts honest, justice and reparations for Baby Pendo and hundreds of other victims must retain our singular focus and inform our public demand for justice and an end to police brutality. My condolences to the families of Simon Warui, Samson Wanda and police officer Benedict Kabiru. Kabiru's death in Haiti was tragically revealed by the President as a statistic in a report to the international community after six months of official silence and denials by his employer to his family. May they find peace, as they too, seek justice and reparations for their loss.

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