IPOA: 50 were killed, 19 abducted during recent protests
A protester displays spent cartridges used by police to disperse anti-government protesters in Karatina town, Nyeri County on July 16, 2024.
50 people were killed, 197 injured and 19 abducted in the recent youth-led protests, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) told a parliamentary committee on Thursday.
The death toll given by IPOA, however, is 10 fewer than that of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), which had put the deaths at 60 and missing at 66.
The chilling revelation by IPOA comes the same day Inspector-General of Police nominee Douglas Kanja promised legislators vetting him for the job that there would be sweeping reforms if he is approved. He also promised to ensure all police officers wear necessary uniforms before deployment, coming at a time when policing authorities have come under fire due to an increase in abductions by plain clothes policemen.
IPOA boss Elema Halake told the National Assembly Constitutional Implementation and Oversight Committee (CIOC) that they have independently confirmed cases of the dead and injured after sending their officers to mortuaries and hospitals.
Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) CEO Elema Halake.
He told the committee that they have already forwarded four files regarding the deaths to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for further directions and actions.
The DPP, according to Mr Halake, has returned three files while directing that IPOA addresses some gaps. One case is proceeding with the rest of the process in court.
"These are cases that we have confirmed ourselves. They are so serious to us and have we categorised them as public interest cases and are giving them priority," Mr Halake told MPs.
"We want to assure members of the public that we will fast track these cases. It's only that matters of investigations take time but we are on the cases and will follow them to conclusion," he added.
Abductions
On the 19 abduction cases, Mr Halake said IPOA has submitted all files to the DPP and are awaiting feedback.
“This is a matter that is of great concern to us. We want to promise members that we will get back with answers on the progress,” he said.
Mr Halake said that so far, IPOA has handled close 1,896 complaint cases against the police. 836 of these have been forwarded to the DPP, 136 are before courts while the Authority has managed to get 34 convictions.
The Authority, however, has cited budgetary constraints, lack of cooperation from police and inadequate staffing as the major challenges slowing down its work.
