Wanton killings pose a major threat to the nation

Last week, Kenyans and the world were horrified at the sadistic and brutal murders of three young men. Human rights lawyer Willie Kimani, his taxi driver Joseph Muiruri, and client Josephat Mwendwa were abducted and slain gangland style after a hearing at Mavoko Law Courts. Their bodies were pulled from Ol Donyo Sabuk River. They bore signs of torture and a grisly end. The manner of the killings suggests a gross disregard for human life and a visceral hatred for the victims. It is the textbook definition of impunity. Once again, Kenya landed on international news media for the wrong reasons. I didn’t know the victims. But I wept from my perch overlooking the Arlington National Cemetery in Washington.

Kenyans knew instinctively whodunit — the Kenya Police Service. The operative word is the perversion of “service.” Inspector General Joseph Boinnet and Interior Secretary General Joseph Nkaissery rushed to contain the public relations damage. The public outcry — led by civil society and the Law Society of Kenya — reached fever pitch. As emotions ran raw, even key Jubilee legislators, like Senator Kipchumba Murkomen, uttered the unthinkable. It was time for IG Boinnet and CS Nkaissery to resign if they couldn’t protect the public from an ogre of a police force. I say “amen.” The gruesome killings revolted even the most partisan hearts. But IG Boinnet and CS Nkaissery missed the point by attributing the murders to a few “rogue” officers.