A human rights organisation will train residents of Nyeri town's informal settlements on the use of their phones to record and report injustices.
Inform Action field director, Mt Kenya region, Samuel Wandimi said they will train residents to collect evidence and report incidents to either the authorities or the organisation.
The sessions will be on taking photos, shooting videos and sharing them with relevant authorities, Wandimi told the Star on Tuesday.
He said that slum dwellers use their smartphones to shoot actions during injustices, but many miss essential episodes that can be used as evidence in court.
Wandimi said citizen journalism can help in documenting human right abuses.
“We have come up with a WhatsApp platform where residents will monitor police brutality and every incident will be recorded via camera and sent to the group for action.”
The WhatsApp group is called Speakout and is operational. It comprises families of victims of extrajudicial killings, police brutality and potential victims such as commercial sex workers, bodaboda riders and bar attendants.
These groups are likely targets by either the police or criminals as they witness most of these incidents.
The move was as a result of resident fearing to physically report various injustices to the authorities.
“But when people are in a group or on such platforms, they tend to have the courage to speak out and share their experiences as opposed to when they are individuals as they are easy targets,” Wandimi said.
The human rights crusader spoke when he met residents of informal of Majengo, Kiawara, Witemere, Kangemi and Ruring’u at YMCA hall in Nyeri town.
The areas are targets of police crackdowns after reports of youth radicalisation. They are also believed to be havens of crime suspects.
“These places have witnessed a lot of extrajudicial killings, especially young men since last year,” he said.
“Some of the issues raised in the meeting were that there has been a lot of police brutality against innocent Kenyans. Most of these cases are not reported."
People fear and do not complain, he said, adding that the few who have complaints do not know where to take them.
There have been many arrests and extortion by the police where they ask for money to release suspects. Beatings during arrests are the order of the day, residents said.
Last year, about 34 cases of executions were reported in three major slums in the town and a number of cases of forced disappearances after the killing of Kamakwa chief, Wandimi said.
But former Nyeri county commissioner Fredrick Shisia last year said those shot dead were criminals who engaged police in shootouts.
“In my view that is not murder. Two, whoever has any information about issues of extrajudicial killings should come and share it with us, then we will be able to cooperate,” Shisia said.
Wandimi said Inform Action plans to conduct human rights awareness in all slums and also have linkages with organisations like IPOA, KNCHR, KHRC and IMLU.
Ann Muthoni from Majengo dismissed as misplaced the perception that slum residents are criminals, hence arrests and harassment by the police.
Mary Wangui from Witemere said many suspects give bribes for fear of being taken to court and jailed as they do not know their rights.
