Kenya protests: People face police brutality after dozens killed

Kenya has seen a series of shootings since 30-year-old Rex Masai was shot dead, leaving dozens dead, as police cracked down on protests across the country in recent days.

The killing has further eroded what little faith there was in police to keep the peace and raised concerns about how security forces will respond as a new round of protests is poised to begin.

WARNING: This work contains graphic violence that may be disturbing to some readers.

A second protest broke out on June 20 in opposition to a proposed finance bill that would raise new taxes. The protests two days earlier had been uneventful, but as the sun went down that Thursday, something changed in the heart of the capital, Nairobi.

Protesters became more defiant, and police stopped using water cannons and tear gas and started firing live ammunition.

Masai was the unfortunate victim: he was shot in the thigh and bled to death.

“My hands were full of his blood,” said his friend Ian Njuguna, who rushed to help him as he fell to the ground.

But when he and another friend tried to take him to a nearby hospital, “police fired tear gas.” [as] We were carrying a dying friend.”

“We desperately tried to talk to him and begged him not to leave us.”

At least four police officers are expected to be charged in the shooting deaths of protesters over the past four weeks, amid growing calls for justice for victims of excessive force.

However, the investigation is proving difficult.

“They were met with an uncooperative police response and a degree of intimidation towards officers,” Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) Commissioner John Waiganjo told the BBC.

However, the investigation into Masai’s murder has yet to result in any charges as investigators seek to gather more evidence and record statements.

Waiganjo would not comment on the incident but explained that when investigating any injuries or deaths, IPOA needs information on the source of any guns involved and the identities of the officers allegedly involved.

The BBC has reviewed video taken around the same time and possibly in the same place as Masai was killed, which shows what appear to be plainclothes police officers opening fire on a group of protesters fleeing along a street.

Njuguna said he believed his friend was being profiled by the officer who shot him because he had dreadlocks.

“He was accused of stealing a mobile phone. There was a shop that had been looted. So the police thought he was one of the looters and shot him. For what? For having dreadlocks,” he told the BBC, sounding angry and frustrated.

According to Masai’s family, the doctor who pronounced him dead on the night he was killed found a bullet wound in his thigh and a wound on one side, but no exit wound on the other side.

“I [where he died]”I asked the paramedics to cover my son’s body,” his mother, Gillian Munyao, told the BBC the day after the attack, as she saw where the bullet had left her son’s leg.

After the autopsy, Masai’s family and friends were shocked to find that no bullet was found in his body, which they suspected had been removed at some point.

When the BBC put Waiganjo to the allegations of a lack of physical evidence, he was not surprised given IPOA’s own struggles to secure items to aid in its investigations.

This could frustrate the pursuit of justice, even though the IPOA has the power to compel institutions to submit vital information.

The BBC has contacted Acting Police Commissioner Douglas Kiritcho to respond to allegations of obstruction of investigations and excessive use of force against protesters.

He acknowledged the request and directed a police spokesperson to answer our specific questions, but despite repeated prompting, no response had been received by the time of publication.

For many Kenyans, the conduct of police in the country has caused them to lose all confidence in the police system.

It’s not surprising that IPOA says it is struggling to get testimony from witnesses to Masai and other cases, as people are often afraid to come forward. IPOA has launched investigations using allegations of killings, arbitrary arrests and abductions shared on social media.

BBC Verify investigated the protests across the several weeks and found dozens of videos that activists and police watchdogs say appear to show police using excessive force and violations in quelling protests.

By comparing landmarks seen in the video with Google Street View imagery, satellite maps, local media reports and other videos of the same incident, the BBC was able to establish where and when the incident took place.

The videos show a variety of incidents, including shooting at unarmed protesters, beatings with batons, attacks on first aiders, and attacks and abductions of journalists.

One video taken next to the Capitol building shows a protester with his hands up walking toward police, moments after gunshots ring out.

He is then shown screaming as he is pushed into the back of a police vehicle, with wounds to both his legs.

“I didn’t do anything, I didn’t burn the car. They shot me for no reason,” he said, showing the wound on his leg.

“There is no justification for using live or rubber bullets against unarmed people who are not engaging in violent confrontations with police,” said Irungu Houghton, Kenya executive director of human rights group Amnesty International.

He maintains there is a clear legal framework for policing in the country: “You can’t read more than a page without reading the words human rights and service to the people.”

But he believes the problem is deeply rooted in the system: “Instead of easing the dialogue and facilitating what are essentially peaceful protests, what we saw was an attempt to thwart peaceful protests. And that’s where it breaks down.”

He argues that policing works if leadership is clear that the role of the police is to reduce tensions.

“If the protests are peaceful, the police should not use tear gas, water cannons or even live ammunition,” Waiganjo said.

Their role is to guide protesters along agreed routes and they “may only use firearms if human lives are at risk.”

Asked if she was confident justice would be served, Masai’s mother replied: “You know how the government works here, but I believe they will do their best.”

“What I want to say to the police at future protests is that they are parents just like us. The pain we feel should be theirs. We will not take revenge. We will leave it to God.”