•Currently, though the constitution requires that the police be independent, the feat has yet to be achieved as the Ministry of interior still retains its power of the purse
Civil society groups have lauded the directive by President William Ruto to give financial autonomy to the National Police Service, but not enough.
The lobbies however fault the president for failing to take any action on police excesses and widely publicized claims of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearance in the country.
The International Medico-Lego Unit, the main lobby that has been campaign for the move over the years, said the decision if implemented fully will be a major step in ensuring true independence of the police.
Currently, though the constitution requires that the police be independent, the feat has yet to be achieved as the Ministry of interior still retains its power of the purse.
The ministry’s principal secretary is the accounting officer for the service, exposing it to influence in exercising its mandate.
The law, however, allows the interior Cabinet secretary to give directives to the Inspector general of police but must do so in writing.
“President Ruto’s directive to give financial autonomy to the National Police Service is a welcome move. We have pushed for this to happen for several years as we believed it would enable the Inspector General of Police to effectively execute [its] constitutional mandate and ensure that the disciplined force is run professionally,” Imlu said in its reaction to the directive.
The lobby says the move will shield the internal operational decision of the service from undue influence from power peddlers.
“Once implemented, this directive will usher in the independence of the National Police Service as envision by the law.”
Missing Voices, a coalition of civil society players including IJM and Amnesty International among others, however, has insisted that focus should be on criminalizing enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killing as a priority.
The coalition has launched a campaign, asking members of the public to sign a petition to force the new parliament to enact a law that criminalizes the acts.
"By signing the petition below, you help make Kenya better by eliminating Enforced Disappearances," it said in its public petition messaging.
The coalition has been documenting cases of extrajudicial deaths and enforced disappearances alleged to be occasioned by police officers.
According to its latest data, 75 people have allegedly been killed by the police or disappeared this year.
“Out of the number, 72 were as a result of police killings (two were first enforced disappearance cases), and one disappeared in police custody,” they said.
Last year, the lobby said it recorded 219 cases of killings or enforced disappearances, 187 of them were alleged police masterminded deaths and 32 were those who disappeared from police custody.
In 2020, the lobby's data allege 168 deaths or disappearances at the hands of law enforcement, 158 of the people were killed while 10 disappeared in police custody.
In other data, the group says that between January 2019 and August 2020 it recorded some 267 deaths linked to unlawful use of force by police.
In 2016 it recorded at least 34 people from public reporting who had forcefully disappeared during counterterrorism measures by security agencies.
“Currently, the number of people who have disappeared stands at 153,” it said.
The legislation it seeks should have the Parliament allocate funding to the Attorney General’s office to allow the implementation of the National Coroner’s Service Act 2017.
It also wants the state to ratify, without any reservations, the International Convention for the Protection of all persons from enforced disappearance.
The lobby is demanding that the proposed law should provide for stringent prosecutorial regimes for people found responsible for enforced disappearance and extrajudicial killings.
The petition wants the state to provide a clear and shorter roadmap for payment of reparations including monetary compensation for damages caused to victims, medical and psychological care and rehabilitation for any form of physical or mental damage, legal and social rehabilitation.