Kenyan police have killed 15 since start of virus curfew

COVID-19 | VIOLENCE


Kenyan police have been involved in the killing of 15 people since the country put a nighttime curfew in place in March to combat the coronavirus, the policing oversight body said in a statement seen by AFP Friday.

The Independent Policing Oversight Body (IPOA) said it had received 87 complaints against police since the dusk to dawn curfew and heightened security measures were put in place on March 27.

"After preliminary investigations, 15 deaths and 31 incidents where victims sustained injuries have directly been linked to actions of police officers during the curfew enforcement."

According to the statement, the complaints include deaths, shootings, harassment, assaults, robbery, inhumane treatment and sexual assault.

Kenya's police force is often accused by rights groups of using excessive force and carrying out unlawful killings, especially in poor neighbourhoods.

In April Human Right Watch accused the police of imposing the curfew in a "chaotic and violent manner from the start", sometimes whipping, kicking and teargassing people to force them off the streets.




It described the case of a 13-year-old boy who died in the capital Nairobi on March 31 after being shot while standing on his balcony as police forced people into their homes on the street below. 

In others, a tomato seller died in western Kakamega after being hit by a teargas canister, while four men were beaten to death in different parts of the country.

"Police brutality isn't just unlawful; it is also counterproductive in fighting the spread of the virus," the rights watchdog said.