A group of human rights organizations condemned the police actions during last Friday’s Saba Saba protests terming them illegal and dictatorial.
Police shot and killed six of the protesters as they descended on demonstrators on July 7 and arrested at least 100 of them.
The courts however released those arrested after spending the weekend in custody.
On Tuesday, the umbrella group of human rights under Police Reforms Working Group-Kenya said they witnessed the return of a police state where the police brutalised unarmed, peaceful Kenyans.
They said people were exercising their constitutionally guaranteed freedom of assembly as they expressed their dissatisfaction with the state of the economy.
“We commemorated 33 years since Kenyans took to the streets to express their displeasure with dictatorship, bad governance, human rights violations, and state repression.”
“This was a historic statement of defiance against an authoritarian state that was using the police to kill, maim and oppress the people,” the group said.
The group said just like our Saba Saba heroes of the 1990s, including Martin Shikuku, Rev. Timothy Njoya, James Orengo, Gitobu Imanyara and many others who paid the price for our hard-won democratic freedoms, different groups under #NjaaRevolution, #Saba Saba March for our lives, #Okoa Uchumi and political opposition went to the streets to commemorate this historic day and to express themselves as active citizens.
Six people were shot dead by police in Kisii, Migori, and Kisumu, and over 100 were arrested and several others injured as a section of 'the police expressed the highest level of brutality, cruelty and torture.'
“As a result, we saw reckless use of tools of policing including the misuse of firearms and teargas.”
“We denounce the emerging trend of intimidation of police officers including punitive transfers of those who embrace non-violent approaches in the spirit of community policing and respect for citizens’ right to assemble, to free expression and to participate in public discourse. We wish to commend all officers who are defending the rule of law, and freedom of assembly and right to protest. We encourage them to continue acting within their service standing orders,” the group added.
They condemned continued political harassment of media houses and intimidation of journalists, a trend that is increasingly threatening freedom of expression and free media.
“We urge the media to remain steadfast in defending our hard-won democracy. Additionally, citizens who were held in police custody were denied medical treatment, dignity kits, food, legal assistance, and bail as required by law.”
While attempting to safeguard the rights of the arrested persons, the group said, several lawyers and civil society leaders were chased out of Central Police Station.
“Most shocking, was the teargassing of the former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga at Central Police Station when he was carrying out his role as a respected elder, Former Chief Justice of the Judiciary and Advocate of the High Court of Kenya.”
They urged the IG to take full political and command responsibility over the NPS and Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) and the Internal Affairs Unit (IAU) to investigate cases of arbitrary arrests, mistreatment and all atrocities committed by the police.
They also want the legal profession at the Bench and the Bar to stand with their colleagues and demand the dignity and respect of their office.
“They must call for an investigation into the conduct of the Police at Central Police Station for detonating a teargas canister at the former Chief Justice and other legal counsel who were defending the Constitution and human rights.”
