As public confidence in the National Police Service continues to decline amid mounting cases of brutality, human rights groups are now calling for UN's intervention to restore accountability and weed out rogue officers.
Two leading voices, Defenders Coalition and the Social Justice Centers Working Group, told the Star that while the Independent Policing Oversight Authority is legally mandated to hold police accountable, the agency is severely overstretched.
They argue that a Philip Ransley-style investigation is now necessary to confront the growing crisis in police conduct.
Philip Ransley, a former UN rapporteur, led the 2009 probe into the police response to the 2007-08 post-election violence that killed more than 1,000 people and displaced 600,000 others.
His investigation also looked into the police crackdown on the outlawed Mungiki sect, highlighting the force's alleged political bias and excessive violence. During that period, police were accused of acting as a de facto youth wing for President Mwai Kibaki’s Party of National Unity.
Now, rights advocates say history is repeating itself—and perhaps worsening.
Kamau Ngugi, executive director of Defenders Coalition, says international intervention is the only way to guarantee impartiality, given the high-level political interests involved.
“A huge swath of the Kenyan public does not believe that justice will be served in cases like Albert Ojwang’s, given that the top command of the police stands accused. It is clear that the police command will do all it can to hide any incriminating evidence against their own,” he said.
Ojwang, who died in police custody under controversial circumstances, is the latest sign of the deepening crisis in police accountability. His case, like many others, remains unresolved.
Kamau warns that the urgency is heightened by the approach of Kenya’s next general election—a moment often marked by heightened political tension and police abuse.
“The UN rapporteur on torture and extrajudicial killings is critical. Given that a year down the line no accountability has been done on the police response to the June 2024 Gen Z protests, the need has never been more urgent,” he said.
He said UN support would not undermine IPOA, but rather bolster it—particularly since the authority has frequently complained of being obstructed by police when conducting investigations.
“We are calling for the UN systems to come as a complementary input to bolster our systems. Ipoa has been on record multiple times that its efforts get undermined. The police have failed, especially in the aftermath of June 2024, to provide key materials that would act as pieces of evidence. So the rapporteur would complement their work, not undermine it,” Kamau said.
Wilfred Olal, convenor of the Social Justice Centers Working Group said the call for international oversight is not new, but a renewed appeal after years of unmet promises.
“It has been our position as grassroots activists that only a thoroughly independent actor like the UN Special Rapporteur would help clean the mess and truly hold police accountable. Otherwise, we are being managed to tone down rather than actually serve true justice to the affected families,” Olal said.
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights has also condemned the police’s increasingly violent approach to protests. The commission issued a sharp statement following the filmed killing of a mask seller in Nairobi during a recent demonstration.
In addition, KNCHR condemned the use of armed goons, reportedly deployed with police protection, who attacked protestors during Tuesday’s protests.
“This is an unacceptable conduct by the police who are required to discharge their duties professionally and provide security for all persons in Kenya without favour or bias. The conduct of the police not only takes Kenya back to the dark past but is a sure recipe for creating anarchy in the country. Many businesses in Nairobi closed down due to massive looting and vandalism by the marauding gangs,” the commission said.
