Punish police officers for torture and murders during curfew hours

Since the curfew was imposed, police have been under fire for employing excessive force.

Some cases of police brutality are already in the public domain. There is the man who was battered to death by police while taking his expectant wife to hospital in Kwale. There is also the boy who was shot while on the balcony of his family home in Nairobi. Then there are officers who have been photographed whipping people during curfew hours.

All these cases are repugnant and depict appalling ignorance, arrogance and disregard of human life on the part of the officers. The abuse and murders have shocked both Kenyans and the international community to the core.

But it appears what we know so far is just the tip of the iceberg. The Independent Medico-Legal Unit, an NGO, says it has recorded 41 cases of torture by law enforcement agencies out of which 11 people have died.

If this information is accurate, it means police are competing with Covid-19 to kill people. The pandemic has so far claimed 14 lives in Kenya.

This is unacceptable and must be condemned by everyone who values human life. It shows that the rot in the police force runs deep. We have many outlaws pretending to be law enforcers; rogues who are busy tarnishing the names of law-abiding officers. They should not go unpunished. They must pay for every drop of blood they have shed and for the pain inflicted by their truncheons.

As we have pointed out here before, this country is governed by the rule of law. If anyone is caught on the wrong side of the law, due process should be followed. Police cannot be the judge, jury and executioner. In fact, they are none of these.

The problem with some of our police officers is that they never learn from history; from the experience of their bloodthirsty colleagues.

Yesterday, The Standard published the story of Titus Katitu, a policeman who was jailed for 15 years for killing a suspect, and whose bid to leave prison through the appellate court has hit a brick wall. Last year, Peter Karanja, another policeman, was jailed for 20 years for killing 10 people in Embu while Constable Harrison Langat was also handed 20 years for killing three people in Mombasa. Still in 2019, Corporal Edward Wanyonyi was given a similar sentence for shooting and injuring a student in Garissa.

Such cases should serve as a warning to law enforcers. Unfortunately, they are of no value to some officers who think bearing arms gives them the licence to kill and maim. They must face the full wrath of the law.