Rights defenders brand killer squads 'creation of the state'

Leading human rights defenders say police killer squads in informal settlements, popularly known as ‘Hessy’, are “a deliberate creation of the state”.

Speaking to the Star, the activists questioned why top law enforcement agencies distance themselves from the units, yet public perceptions about their existence and state ties are left to swirl.

Haki Africa executive director Hussein Khalid said, “We have managed to have Interior CS Fred Matiang’i, along with top law enforcement officials, come to the Coast to address questions about the sporadic killings and forced disappearances, but their usual stand is that killings are not state policy.”

Matiang’i, former police boss Joseph Boinnet and Interior PS Karanja Kibicho, met over 30 civil society organisations, including Muslims for Human Rights (Muhuri).

Muhuri released data indicating that over 71 people have either been killed or disappeared at the Coast alone since 2017.

But Matiang’i rejected the claims of extrajudicial killings, saying there is no state policy to that effect. He committed that the police “will stop reckless shooting and killing of suspects”.

“We shall have respect for the rule of law and the lives of citizens of this country,” the CS said, adding that rogue police officers will be reined in as “no one is above the law”.

But Khalid said despite the public disavowing of any special unit, “their modus operandi speaks differently”.

“This defeats any hope we have from the commitments we get from the top brass of law enforcement,” he said.

“If it is Mungiki that is killing people or terrorism, we see concrete steps taken, including the formation of a special operation unit to combat it. How come when there is a systemic trend of the killing of people alleged to be criminals, there are zero efforts to stop it?” Khalid added.

ENJOY PROTECTION?

Kamau Ngugi, executive director of the National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders, told the Star it is in the interest of the government and the police to weed out trigger-happy rogue elements to sanitise their image.

“It appears the killer squad and those uploading the gory images of people killed enjoy protection at the highest level of the State,” Ngugi said.

“Probably the intention is to combat crime, but from a human rights perspective, even criminals have the protection of human rights. Alleged criminals also deserve to live,” he said, adding that “the killer squads a deliberate creation of the state”.

Wilfred Olal, the coordinator of the Dandora Community Justice Centre, told the Star he is sure the Hessy’s operating in the slum areas are “police elements and are well protected”.

Olal, who is also the convenor of the centre’s working group, said he has been a victim of Hessy’s intimidation and has had to record a statement with the police.

“We recorded statements and the authorities said they will need two months to get back to us.”

Olal, however, said he is optimistic following the outreaches by the Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji and Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti to have the public express their frustrations at the hands of the police.

“The outreaches are unprecedented. The DPP has told us to wait for a status report in two months. We will hold them to account if it is all talk and no action,” he said. 

HOW ‘HESSY’ OPERATES

Star investigations established that, while not officially recognised, killer squads are purposely outfitted to terminate threats, and their members act with impunity. 

The mysterious crime busters target serial offenders freed by courts, and they don't hesitate to intimidate human rights activists decrying extrajudicial killings. 

Going by their identity on social media, where they invariably use the name 'Hessy', the units appear to be positioned in various settlements around Nairobi.

They include Hessy wa Dandora, Hessy wa Kayole, Hessy wa Majengo, Hessy wa Eastleigh and Hessy wa Kibera. 

Not much is known about the groups. But sources with inside knowledge, who declined to have their names revealed, disclosed that the Hessy units are composed of officers sampled from various units of the police service and the military to purposely combat crime.

They allege that the unit was crafted in response to an increased spate of crimes and terror attacks in the country.

Yet another source verified the characterisation of the group, saying the unit exists in the police service and that "it operates undercover, and even others [in the system] do not know [about it]". 

"The group operates under a unit code of SPIV," the source, a member of the group, said.

"Their work is to follow up on police OBs [Occurrence Books] and identify those who have been booked several times on criminal allegations. They then monitor the progress of their cases in court."

With the implementation of the new Constitution, the accused are charged and then released on bail. This vexes law enforcement officers because the suspects get back into the community and continue their devious activities.

"Members of this unit are out on a singular objective: to eliminate any notorious thug that the judiciary cannot isolate from members of the public," the source said.

The Hessy pages tend to have mugshots of people alleged to be criminals and they are warned to reform or else "you will meet this big thing". The "thing" is a euphemism for a bullet. The page admins also upload photos of bodies of "criminals" felled by the "big thing".

They also warn the purported criminals to relocate to their rural backyard “if they valued their lives.”

The Hessy pages also tend to carry gory images of bodies of people shot.

Members of this unit are out on a singular objective: to eliminate any notorious thug that the judiciary cannot isolate from members of the public, the police source said.

SQUADS DISOWNED

Top police command has, however, maintained denial of the existence of any police unit known as Hessy or any coordinated police outfit of crime busters. 

Former Inspector General Joseph Boinnet told the media in November last year no such group exists, insisting that "the person behind the Facebook accounts is not a police officer but [a civilian] passionate about security matters".

The same line of argument was somewhat reiterated by the Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti during a public forum about extrajudicial killings and police brutality in Kayole in February, maintaining that he does not know about any group called Hessy.

The chilling approach has not spared human rights defenders, whom the undercover officers perceive to be a hindrance to their work. They have also had their pictures uploaded in the Hessy wa Dandora pages with a warning to watch their back. 

Wilfred Olal, a coordinator of the Dandora Community Justice Centre and the convener of the Social Justice Working Group, printed out the pages with the faces of the human rights defenders and the accompanying warnings and presented them to the DCI during the Kayole meeting.

Gacheke Gachihi, the coordinator of the Mathare Social Justice Center, told the Star the undercover officers have had serious conflicts with human rights actors in the area. 

"I have been a victim of having my portrait uploaded on the Hessy pages with a warning that we'll be dealt with for sympathising with criminals," he said. 

The deeds of the killer police squads have also been questioned in the past to no avail.

The insider cited an incident in Eastleigh in which three police officers in 2017 shot dead two young men who had surrendered and were lying on the ground.

“In that case, our colleagues in the unit had clear instructions to execute the two thugs,” he said. “The two youths were members of a notorious gang in Kayole that had terrorised the area and even killed an officer.”

Amid the ensuing pressure from human rights activists and media spotlight, police bosses ensured the officers involved, whose actions were caught in a clip that went viral on social media, were given sufficient protection, he added.

“The investigations into the shootings were easily dealt with and the case crumbled," the officer said.

“Every trace that could lead to the colleagues was erased, with the CCTV footage destroyed to conceal them.”

Reached for comment on these revelations, IPOA spokesman Dennis Oketch declined to confirm the existence of the killer police squads but said the issues involved are quite sensitive and that “discussing them in the media would jeopardise any case or active investigations”.