Nairobi police boss grilled, senior officers transferred over mishandling of anti-femicide protestors
Anti-femicide protestors demonstrate on the streets of Nairobi on December 10, 2024. Inset: Nairobi Regional Police Commander Adamson Bungei.
What you need to know:
- Police Spokesperson Resila Onyango said the transfers were due to poor handling of the protestors.
- Human rights groups commended the transfer of the senior police officers following IAU’s investigation.
Nairobi Region Police Commander Adamson Bungei is among 60 police officers grilled by the National Police Service’ Internal Affairs Unit (IAU) over the mishandling of protestors during the anti-femicide march held in the capital last week.
The first casualties of the investigations are senior officers — including Nairobi Central Sub County Police Commander (SCPC) Doris Mugambi and her junior, the Officer Commanding Station, Isaac Nur — who have been transferred to Vigilance House and Mulot, respectively.
Mugambi has been immediately replaced by Senior Superintendent of Police Stephen Okal, who is the former Deputy SCPC at BuruBuru Police Division with, Okal being replaced by Chief Inspector Benjamin Talam.
The IAU is particularly keen on investigating the role played by senior officers with a focus on the orders they issued to their juniors during the protests as well as probing all the operations conducted that day.
“We have over 60 statements written by all police officers involved in the protests last week. We visited Central Police Station last week, and on Monday (December 16, 2024), we were at the offices of the top command of police officers in Nairobi. We are now waiting for their written statements to determine our next steps," an officer involved in the investigations at the IAU said.
"Kenyans should expect to see more actions being taken against all officers who will be found culpable during the protests.”
Police Spokesperson Resila Onyango confirmed to the Nation.Africa that the transfers were due to the poor handling of protestors during the legal protests held in the capital city last week.
“The changes at Central were due to last week’s mismanagement of the anti-femicide peaceful demonstrations,” she said.
The changes were announced on the very day that the Cabinet, chaired by President William Ruto, approved the establishment of a presidential working group to develop a comprehensive approach to addressing femicide.
The working group will engage religious leaders, parents, schools, security agencies, and all other stakeholders to identify gaps in law, enforcement, and social values that contribute to this crisis.
“The team will be gazetted with clear terms of reference and tasked with delivering actionable recommendations within 90 days,” part of the Cabinet dispatch read.
In relation to the police transfers, human rights groups including Amnesty International, International Commission of Jurists-Kenyan Section, Independent Medical Legal Unit and the Law Society of Kenya commended the transfer of the senior police officers following IAU’s investigation.
While acknowledging that the quick action taken was a step in the right direction, the groups said that the punishment meted out “falls short of addressing the systemic issues that enable such abuses”.
For the lobbies, it was ironic for the law maintenance officers to use unlawful and disproportionate force during the anti-femicide march that happened on the International Human Rights Day — a day singled out to raise awareness on issues pertaining human rights.
The use of rubber bullets, tear gas and physical violence on the protestors despite their compliance with legal notification requirements, the groups said, is an affront to constitutional rights and international human rights obligations.
“Transferring officers is not enough; meaningful reforms are urgently needed to prevent such violations. We call on the IG of Police to overhaul police operations and prioritise peaceful engagements with protestors,” they said.
Police attempt to arrest an anti-femicide protestor during demonstration on the streets of Nairobi on December 10, 2024.
For there to be any meaningful change, the pressure groups said, Kenya must move beyond symbolic actions and address the systemic problems within its policing framework since the violent suppression of peaceful protestors undermines its democratic principles and erodes public trust in law enforcement.
In light of this fact, the civil society organisations demanded that the NPS and the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (Ipoa) ensure that criminal charges are brought against all officers who used disproportionate force during the march.
They also want the Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja to lead a comprehensive review of police operations during public assemblies and run training programmes that prioritise peaceful engagement, de-escalation tactics and respect for constitutional rights.
The lobby groups also want IPOA and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights to conduct an independent review of the incident and publish its findings.
“Disciplinary action must should extend beyond lower-ranking officers to include command-level accountability,” they said.
Anti-femicide protestors demonstrate on the streets of Nairobi on December 10, 2024.
The groups also called for collaboration among the human rights defenders, civil society organisations and the NPS on practical strategies to reform policing culture with the focus shifting from suppressing assembly to facilitating the safe exercise of constitutional rights.
“Changing the culture of policing in Kenya is imperative to avoid the kind of violence and injury witnessed last Tuesday. We urge the IG of police to lead with a commitment to human rights, initiating reforms that reflect Kenya’s constitutional guarantees and international obligations,” they said.
Last month, shortly after holding a meeting with women leaders at State House, President Ruto committed Sh100 million towards the Safe Home, Safe Space campaign aimed at ending femicide cases across the country.
The Head of State said that the campaign would entail the 16 days of activism which began on November 25, 2024 to voice against gender-based violence and ended on December 10, the very day that police officers brutalised protestors.
“Through the women’s rights adviser, we are launching a safe home, safe space campaign during the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence. Our communities need education on the signs and causes of abuse and resources available to victims,” President Ruto said.
He further instructed the state security agencies to expedite the investigations on pending femicide cases and bring the culprits to book adding that gender desks will be enhanced in various institutions to offer prompt services.
