Rights groups demand municipal court closed over torture claims
A front view of Municipal Court in Eldoret town, Uasin Gishu County.
What you need to know:
- The groups cited a recent case of Alex Kirwa, a hawker in Eldoret who was allegedly arrested, tortured and detained at the cells on the night of October 17
- The activists said the detentions are illegal because they are not gazetted facilities for that purpose, unless a court session is going on
Rights groups in Uasin Gishu County have decried alleged torture of residents at the municipal court by county askaris and demanded its immediate closure.
Five rights groups under the Uasin Gishu Human Rights Caucus want the Judiciary to suspend services at the Eldoret court following what they say is an increase in abuse of court cells by county enforcement officers.
The cells serve a court presided over by a senior resident magistrate.
Speaking in Eldoret, human rights organisations accused county enforcement officers of turning the cells into kangaroo courts where they subject suspects them to abuses.
Led by Nick Omito, from the Centre for Human Rights and Mediation, and Kimutai Kirui, from the Centre Against Torture, the lobbyists said rogue enforcement officers have used the cells to illegally detain hawkers, chang’aa dealers and other petty offenders.
“We are not going to allow county reinforcement officers to continue using the court cells as torture chambers without the knowledge of the magistrate and governor. The behaviour of these officers is giving the Judiciary a bad image,” Mr Omito said.
Protect image
He said it was in the interest of the Judiciary to withdraw its services at the court to protect its image.
The activists said the detentions are illegal because they are not gazetted facilities for that purpose, unless a court session is going on.
The groups cited the recent case of Alex Kirwa, a hawker in Eldoret who was allegedly arrested, tortured and detained at the cells on the night of October 17.
The rights groups are watching the case after it was reported at the Eldoret Police Station.
Speaking to journalists at that station after presenting their petition to the county police commander, the rights defenders said officers at the county cells used the cells to extort money in the name of fines and torturing gullible small-scale traders.
Mr Kirui claimed the county officers were now assuming the role of magistrates and judges.
“Only magistrates and judges are expected by the law to fine and pass sentences to offenders and not county enforcement officers,” he said, adding that county enforcement officers have no right or capacity to investigate and prosecute petty offenders.
Some suspects who were arrested by Uasin Gishu county enforcement officers in connection with chang'aa brewing and and arraigned before the Municipal Court on October 17, 2022. The court is on the spot over human rights abuses, particularly torture of suspects by county askaris.
Disband county enforcement unit
He also challenged Uasin Gishu Governor Jonathan Bii to emulate President William Ruto by disbanding the county enforcement unit.
He said Mr Bii should come up with a new unit that will be trained on how to deal with petty offenders and respect human rights.
“We want Governor Bii to come in strongly and rein in rogue officers so as to protect his good image, as well as to emulate President William Ruto by ensuring the unit is disbanded and restructured in conformity with human rights,” Mr Omito said.
The lobby groups also want the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the chief public prosecutor to intervene by investigating the allegations.
The groups also claim National Police Service officers seconded to the county court were not working professionally as stipulated in the National Police Service Act.
Ms Monica Jepkosgei, from the Africa Centre for Non-Violence, appealed to the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (Ipoa) to investigate officers said to be working with county officers in kangaroo courts at the county headquarters and abetting rights abuses.
Law and order
She challenged police officers attached to the municipal court to ensure law and order is followed by county enforcement officers.
“Police must work together with county enforcement officers to ensure that human rights are protected by all means. They must stop torturing small-scale traders in this town,” Ms Jepkosgei said.
Other human rights activists who condemned the abuses included Stephen Ngososei and Benson Juma, from the Eldoret Social Justice Centre.
Three years ago, a video showing an enforcement officer torturing a hawker in Eldoret went viral, drawing wide condemnation.
