Kenya police in a record six days gave details of a controversial death this month. It was that of activist Carolyne Mwatha who worked with Dandora Community Justice Center highlighting human rights abuses of people in police custody.
Within that period, police also quickly arrested suspected 'killers' and 'accomplices', and the prosecution, with the same speed, charged them.
Mwatha was reported missing on February 6. Her body was found six days later at City Mortuary. On the same day police released quite a detailed report explaining the chronology of events leading to Mwatha's death. A press release bearing particulars of the case was signed by Director of Criminal Investigation George Kinoti, an indication of the level of confidence police had with the findings.
It is baffling and equally encouraging how quickly police reacted. A couple of theories have been advanced to explain this reaction: Police had no hand in the murder and wanted to clear name and; police are responsible and needed to divert attacks.
It can't be recalled the last time police acted this fast. But a fundamental question is now arising: Why did the police not respond with the same urgency to other high-profile murders since 2013?
Why post-2013? Because it is the time this government, accused of hundreds of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances, came to power. The year also falls under the era of the new Constitution promulgated in 2010 and which is famed for its Bill of Rights.
The eliminations of Jacob Juma, Chris Msando, Meshack Yebei and, at the Coast, tout Caleb Espino, Utange brothers and others remain unresolved. What did the government know about these deaths? Why didn't it give us details as fast as with Mwatha's case? Were police buying time to cover up? Who were they protecting then?
It should be noted some of the murders occurred after the victims – in government's perspective – appeared anti-establishment.
Others, like that of Espino and the Utange brothers (Bilal Masoud,17, Juma Kitsao,17, and Kenga Ramadhan, 18) were as a result of blatant disregard of the rule of law by the killer cops. There was no satisfactory explanation from police.
Businessman Juma, a government critic, was assassinated by a hail of bullets on his car on May 5, 2016 at 9.30pm. Police are accused of badly tampering with the crime scene. Several people were arraigned and charged.
Electoral commission ICT manager Msando was assassinated on July 29, 2017, days before the general election. He was one of the few people with knowledge of the whereabouts of the IEBC servers. Carol Ngumbu, 21, the woman Msando was last seen with, was strangled to death and some of her teeth pulled out.
Yebei was to be an ICC witness in the 2007-08 post election violence cases. He disappeared in December 2014 and found dead in Tsavo National Park two days to 2015.
The ICC said Yebei was implicated in efforts to corrupt prosecution witnesses in the case against Deputy President William Ruto – charged with crimes against humanity - and Joshua Sang. The case collapsed.
Espino died inside Changamwe police station after he was arrested during a swoop on drinking dens on September 18 last year. A month later, postmortem by four pathologists including government's Johansen Oduor, said he died of multiple injuries.
The Utange brothers were rounded up by police and shot at point blank.
To date, there is no convincing report from police on these murders. The first of these deaths occurred in 2016. Almost three years on, the government is silent on the inquiries. Did the government had a hand in these deaths?
However, since Kinoti and Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji took office last year, there has been a change of tack. We are headed in the right direction judging by the manner the two are running the show. I urge them to go back to the archives and resolve past ruthless murders.
But Kinoti and Haji's efforts will be corroded if county commissioners, their assistants and the police do not learn the ropes. They are integral to ending these murders. Under Kinoti and Haji's leadership police officers have been arraigned, charged and even convicted.
Former Ruaraka OCS Nahashon Mutua was this month sentenced to death for murdering miraa trader Martin Koome. His sentencing came despite mounting pressure from a high-ranking individual at Ulinzi House who wanted IPOA to drop the case (We have first-hand information about this). The official failed.
An inquest found that six police officers have a case to answer in the murder of Baby Samantha Pendo. In Kilifi, police officers Simeon Ayodo and Amos Kipsang’ went on trial for shooting dead primary school pupil Kazungu Katana, 17.
Were it not for pressure from civil society organisations and IPOA, some police prosecutions would have remained a mirage. CSOs and police should collaborate to enhance the rule of law. Only then can the souls of the departed rest in peace and victims find peace of mind.