Increased cases of extra-judicial killings must come to an end

Kenyan courts are set to begin experiencing a week-long paralysis from today. This comes about as protests by advocates, magistrates, judges and human rights groups against the brutal killing of lawyer Willy Kimani, his client Josphat Mwendwa and taxi driver Joseph Muiruri by people suspected to be police officers begin today.

The trio’s brutal murder reinforces the warning that the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) gave in 2014 on the existence of rogue police officers. While the taxi driver was presumably killed for his association with the other two in a matter he was clearly not party to, the lawyer and his client were murdered for seeking justice in a case in which Mr Mwendwa had earlier been shot in the arm by a rogue police officer. This is just one of many such cases that have gone unremarked.