Probe police killings in Kenya

In May 2009, a report by UN Rapporteur Philip Alston on police killings in the wake of the Mungiki menace in parts of Nairobi and Central, so enraged the Government that the police commissioner at the time, Hussein Ali, said: "Anyone can make an accusation, it doesn't take a brain surgeon to come up with one."

The police service has been accused of carrying out extra-judicial killings on many occasions. But they have consistently denied the claims. For even in a situation where an arrest could have been effected, trigger-happy officers have opted to kill rather than apprehend suspects.

The Tuesday night incident where police gunned down eight suspected thugs in Nairobi's Mukuru slums only serves to confirm this perception. Police claim four guns were recovered from the suspects. Residents have, however, disputed their version of events.

We may never know the truth since dead men tell no tales. But why did the police decide to play the role of the accuser, prosecutor, judge and executioner? Hopefully, the Independent Police Oversight Authority will take an interest in the killings and dig up the truth. The sanctity of every human life must be safeguarded at all times.