Justice not served as cases are reported in wrong places – lobby

Many communities at the grassroots at the Coast do not get justice because of lack of follow up on reported cases.

The Kenya Community Support Centre, a non-governmental organisation working with the Independent Police Oversight Authority and the Commission for the Administration of Justice, said on Saturday  sometimes the cases are reported in wrong places.

Kecosce programmes officer Kibwana Hassan said on Tuesday there is a general lack of knowledge on which institution deals with what matter, and this presents a challenge when it comes to delivery of justice.

“That is why we called some of the stakeholders in the security and justice sectors and find out what challenges they face," he said.

“And we have heard from various quarters many cases get lost along the way, many others end at the police station with nothing further coming out, while some end at the chief’s office level."

Hassan said in many cases, victims give up along the way because of lack of action on their cases or progress for those that have seen little action.

He spoke during a workshop in Mombasa organised by Kecosce. The meeting brought together civil societies, IPOA, CAJ and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights.

Kecosce has had numerous sessions with victims in Mombasa, Kwale and Kilifi counties where they narrate their ordeals with the justice system.

“You find that a person’s rights are violated by police officers but they report the same to a police station, probably where the violator is assigned. They will most probably not get justice because the violator’s colleagues will cover up for them,” Hassan said.

The workshops, he said, are meant to inform and educate the masses on the right places to report cases.

“If a person’s rights are violated by police, it is best to report that to IPOA,” Hassan said.

Participants heard that some state officers are lazy and not committed to their work because of various factors, including poor working conditions, poor pay and lack of support from the community.

He said violations of human rights are probably best reported to KNCHR, while poor service delivery cases are best reported to CAJ.

In Mombasa, Hassan said, Kecosce has documented about 50 cases that have been lost because of reportage in wrong places in 2024 alone.

“In the last six or seven months, we have experienced oppression in some of the police stations in Mombasa. One goes to report a case at a police station and instead of getting justice, the case is turned around and they become the perpetrator and treated as such,” Hassan said.

Eventually, he said, the cases die out inexplicably.

“In such cases, IPOA should come in but they also need to be informed of such. Victims need to report such to IPOA,” Hassan said.

He said cases of files missing in police stations and in court registries are rampant.

Land dispute cases, Hassan said, are rampant in Mombasa, Kilifi and Kwale counties, where victims report the cases to state officers who then collude with the moneyed perpetrators to grab people’s land.

“There are certain police officers in Mombasa, Kilifi and Kwale, who have been mentioned to us that they are notorious in interfering with cases reported at their police stations. We are working with IPOA to ensure these are brought to book,” he said.

Irene Randu, the Kisauni subcounty peace committee chairperson, said the grassroots people should be empowered to know their rights and where to report when these rights are violated.

She said it is important that victims of human rights violations feel protected when they report cases.

This way, they will courageously report cases that they witness that they feel deserve reporting, she said.

“If one feels they are not getting the services they deserve, they will feel confident that if they report the same to certain offices, they will be heard, not victimised and justice will be served,” Randu said.