Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinett has been directed to respond to a suit overextrajudicial killings.
High Court judge Chacha Mwita also gave the Attorney General more time to serve responses in the case.
The families of 22 young men fatally shot by police want the Attorney General to advise the President to establish a judicial commission of inquiry. They want independent and effective investigations into documented cases of extrajudicial killings.
They say the AG has an unqualified obligation to advise the President why a commission of inquiry is necessary to investigate and address factors contributing to the high rate of extrajudicial killings.
They said that the IG has not taken adequate steps to prevent further killings during police and other law enforcement operations.
The petition by the International Justice Mission (IJM) cites 22 cases iin which police justified excessive use of force, even in cases involving minors.
One example was Joseph Kahara, 17, who was shot dead by police officers at Mango Kubwa, in Pangani. Kahara died from multiple gunshot wounds to the chest.
Kahara’s mother Milka Wanjiku says her son used to help her run her vegetable business at Mathare.
“It was his daily routine to go early in the morning to Wakulima Market, known as Marikiti. But on May 27, at 5am he left for the market never to be seen again,” she says.
The mother of eight says she received a call from her daughter who informed her Kahara had been shot by police.
Her family has not been offered an explanation of the circumstances leading to her son’s death. “If any investigations were done, my family is unaware of the outcome,” she says.
Another case involves a 23-year-old man who died of multiple gunshot injuries to the head and the chest in 2014. Brian Ondeko was a second-hand shoe dealer in Kawangware area, Nairobi. The family recorded statements but to date his family is has not been informed of the findings of the investigations.
The cases against police brutality faced problems but were propelled by social justice centers. The lobby groups have managed to provide systematic, orderly evidence, helping to pin down the offenders.
The case will be mentioned on April 1 for directions.
Interior CS Fred Matiag’i onTuesday promised to stop reckless shooting and killing of suspects.
“No one is above the law, ” he said. The CS denied killings were ‘extrajudicial’, as there is no policy to that effect.