Report paints grim picture of police service in fight against Covid-19

Almost half of Kenyans have either been harassed, arrested or beaten up by police enforcing curfews and other measures introduced by the government to tame the spread of the coronavirus.

A new report by watchdog Mzalendo – famed for assessing and ranking the performance of MPs – says domestic and gender-based violence has also been on the rise since the country reported its first case of the virus in March.

It said the reasons tied to the time spent at home with limited public interactions as one of the measures for curbing the virus.

The report, whose findings are based on a study conducted between March and June, shows that while the restrictions by the government were part of globally approved standards aimed for containing the deadly virus,they helped escalate cases of human rights violations, violence against men and women, and in some instances shrunk the democratic space in the country.

For instance, Parliament and the Judiciary are said to have reduced their operations, leading to a surge in the number of human rights abuse cases as victims have few or no avenues for redress.

The report says that the closure of the courts, and in some cases the reduction of activity in the Judiciary, meant that perpetrators of police brutality and gender-based violence had free will to conduct their ills.

“Human rights have been affected during Covid-19 with an enforced curfew, cessation of inter-country movement and social distancing orders for the nation. Gender-based violence has increased with time spent at home in response to the pandemic,” says the report.

“Court proceedings, limited to virtual sessions, have seen human rights, gender-based violence and the course of justice adversely affected. The pace of the Judiciary’s discharge of duties has stuttered.”

Weakest link

Police have been cited as the weakest link in the war against the virus which continues to wreak havoc on economies and the health of nations like Kenya and others across the globe.

Human rights groups and lobbies have accused them of brutality, harassment and torture in trying to enforce anti-virus rules.

A report by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (Ipoa) says at least 87 complaints were filed against police officers from the end of March to June, when heightened measures such as the dusk to dawn curfew were effected.

The complaints ranged from deaths, shootings, harassment, assaults resulting to serious injuries, robbery, inhumane treatment and sexual assault.

The Mzalendo report also notes that media freedoms have equally been affected, as staff, though ranked as essential service providers, continue to face harassment and intimidation by police.

The closure of businesses, which has led to a reduction of advertisement revenue for media houses, has also been cited as the biggest impediment to the freedom of the press, as well as inter-county lockdowns and the restriction of movements that have in effect, reduced interactions with news sources and events.

“The press has covered police brutality and media professionals have undergone harm even after identifying themselves,” says the report.

“Advertiser revenue has dwindled, forcing some broadcasters to put staff on unpaid leave or restructure operations.”

Others affected

Other arms of government such as Parliament and the Judiciary have also been affected, with sittings and sessions reduced to less than half or, in most cases, suspended in their entirety.

The rating of political parties also decreased during the period of evaluation, with most parties resorting to consolidation of power through formation of coalitions for survival.

“With Kenya preoccupied with regional politics and political campaigns such as the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), civil societies were evaluated to be silent and less active during Covid-19,” the report says.

“Civil society missed a larger opportunity to raise itsr collective voice to hold the government accountable for its performance in service delivery to citizens.”

The economy and special interest groups have also taken a beating as the government reduced or re-assigned its expenditure to priority areas such as health.