By Daniel M. Austin
Impunity watch Reporter, Africa
NAIROBI, Kenya – Three Kenyan police officers have been suspended after the Daily Nation newspaper published photos of the officers shooting and killing three unarmed suspects at point blank range. Kenya’s interior minister ordered the chief of police to suspend the three individuals and called for a complete investigation. Critics of the Kenyan government claim this incident is just another example of the security forces committing brazen acts of violence without any repercussions.
This particular incident occurred Wednesday morning at 9 a.m. on Lang’ata Road, a busy highway that runs through central Nairobi. The shooting was witnessed by several people who were walking alongside the highway as well as motorists who were driving along the highway. One witness used a camera to capture the incident in a series of photographs.
According to witnesses, the officers, who were dressed in plain clothes, pulled over the suspects’ vehicle, ordered them out of the vehicle and onto the pavement. The suspects were subsequently searched where it was discovered that one had a pistol tucked into his waist band. The three police officers then shot and killed the three suspects at close range.
Initially the Kenyan police claimed that the suspects were armed and had fired upon the officers. However, several witnesses claimed the suspects had surrendered and exited their vehicle with their hands in the air. Furthermore this explanation of a shootout given by the police department was retracted after the Daily Nation published the photographs taken by a witness. According to these photos, it appears security forces had control of the situation, and the suspects were not resisting arrest.
This incident has gained international attention and sparked fears the Kenyan government is continuing to use security forces to carry out extrajudicial killings. Kenyans are especially sensitive to this issue given their tenuous relationship with the police in recent years. During presidential elections three years ago, an estimated 1,200 people were killed, including several hundred who allegedly were killed by the police.
Amnesty International has condemned the killings, claiming these types of crimes have occurred with great frequency in Kenya. Supporting this assertion, in 2009, the United Nations released a report which found police executions in Kenya were organized and widespread.
For more information:
BBC – Kenyan police suspended after Nairobi shooting — 20 January 2011
Daily Nation — Three officers interdicted over Nairobi killings – 19 January 2011
New York Times — Photos of Shot Kenyans Spur Calls for Police Reform – 20 January 2011
The Guardian — Three Kenyan policemen suspended over shooting of three suspects – 20 January 2011
