Police killings staining society's moral fabric

On the eve of December23, 2018, Carilton David Maina, a 22 year old man met his death at the hands of an Administration Police Officer in Kibera. Carilton and his friends were coming from watching a football match before they were confronted by the police officer.The police service has alleged that the officers were responding to a distress call in the area regarding a gang of youths terrorising residents.

Carilton’s tragic death is the latest incident of extra judicial killings endemic in urban low income areas over the years. In the past 3 months, Civil Society Organisations and community justice centres have documented over 30 such cases. Statistics indicate that those who are killed are often between 16 to 27 years old.

Immediately after the news broke, it quickly emerged that a very promising young man’s life had been ended quite unnecessarily, but sadly in a manner that has become normalised in Kenya.

From all public accounts of the way Carilton David Maina lived his life, he had no criminal record nor was he motivated by crime. Born in Kibera’s Laini Saba, he was an achiever both in sports and academic studies. Having secured a scholarship to attend Brookhouse Secondary school, he was currently pursuing an engineering degree at Leeds University, United Kingdom.

Additionally, Carilton was a thought leader. He was one of the few Kenyans of any demographic who had the privilege of being a speaker at a TEDx programme. The prestigious TEDx series seek to spark thought provoking conversations in communities across the world. 

In his TEDx talk, he said, “I usually wonder, when did we become a man eat man society to the extent that we do not care for others? Because, violence descends like a plague on the lives of the poor and destroys everything they have. From the hindsight of history, what is always inexplicable are the failures of human compassion”.

The disenfranchised

In his talk, he goes on to say that, one day, our grandchildren will ask us what we did in the face of atrocities, such as the systemic violence meted at the disenfranchised including the poor. Sadly, his words were chillingly prophetic to the plight of the disenfranchised including himself and his family, which is now grappling with the double tragedy of losing a loved one and having to defend his honour and dignity.

Despite media reports and reports by CSOs, Commissions of Inquiry, constitutional commissions and even UN Special Rapporteurs, Kenyans, including the Government, choose to bury their heads in the sand, perhaps because it is a problem that mainly affects the urban poor who “don’t have a voice”. We fail to empathise, have compassion, and to uphold the humanity of our brethren, as Carilton posits in his TEDx talk.

Rather than fix problems within society and the justice system, we engage in denials and whataboutism, a logical fallacy that attempts to discredit a perceived opponent’s position by charging them with hypocrisy without directly refuting or disproving their argument. Thus, stakeholders such as CSOs, the executive, the judiciary, DPP and attack each other’s motives, intentions and actions. All the while, entire communities continue to be devastated.

After Carilton’s fatal shooting, Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) and NPS committed to investigate the matter to the letter. Moreover, the NPS has also committed to abide by the findings and recommendations of IPOA.

In any civilised society, every person accused of a crime should have their guilt or innocence determined by fair and effective legal processes. But the right to a fair trial is not just about protecting suspects and defendants. It also makes societies safer and stronger. Without fair trials, trust in justice and in government collapses and impunity reigns.

It is noteworthy that there has been a significant shift with regard to police accountability. Ten police officers including an Officer in Charge of a Police Station have been convicted this year for abuse of office, including extra judicial killings and torture.

Recently, mothers and widows of 22 young men have sued the National Police Service for the deaths of their sons. They seek the Attorney General to advice the President to establish a commission of inquiry into the deaths. 

The President on his part announced a raft of police reforms in September that were meant to streamline the command structure with a view of establishing a trustworthy and professional police service that respects human rights.

The law

It has been proven that when communities work together with the police in safeguarding their neighbourhoods, policing becomes more effective and tragedies such as the killing of Carilton are avoided.

As we usher in a new year, the Government and parliament should ensure that criminal justice actors are well equipped to deal with crime within the law. Police officers must be adequately trained and equipped to interact with those who they swore to protect.

The Attorney General on his part should expedite the operationalisation of the Coroners Service Act, which was passed in 2017 to ensure that suspicious deaths, such as Carilton’s are properly investigated and prosecuted to enhance police accountability.

Mr Kiprono Human Rights [email protected] Twitter: @kipdemas