Kenya’s International Justice Mission says police must be held to account for killings

Vincent Chahale is the country director for the International Justice Mission in Kenya.

Let us be real - if you are young in Kenya today, you have probably asked yourself: Could I be next? That is the chilling question hanging in the air as marches marking the first anniversary of the Gen Z protests led to further police killings on Wednesday. 

On June 25 last year, scores of young people took to the streets protesting tax rises - 60 were killed after police opened fire. And still, no justice. 

Yesterday, as young people took to the streets in remembrance – yet more killings by police. How many more? 

The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) confirmed eight civilian deaths at Wednesday’s march and documented excessive police force, including use of live ammunition.

This latest wave of police violence adds to the heartbreak of Kenyans still reeling from the killing of Albert Ojwang. He was a young teacher and blogger who was arrested in western Kenya for allegedly writing a defamatory post on social media against a senior police officer. He was taken to Nairobi and tortured to death in a police cell earlier this month. The initial official story? That he “hit his head on the wall.” 

Kenyans have heard that line before, and they are not buying it.  

Albert’s death lit a fire. Kenyans are back on the streets, demanding answers.  Just last week, another young man, Boniface Kariuki, was shot. He is now fighting for his life in intensive care.  

This isn’t new. On Monday, June 23, we marked the Day of Delayed Justice - a day born from the horror of 2016, when my International Justice Mission colleague - lawyer Willie Kimani - our client Josephat Mwenda, and their driver Joseph Muiruri were abducted, tortured, and dumped in a river after taking a case of police abuse to court. 

It took nearly seven years to convict their killers. That’s not justice. That’s a system that needs fixing to ensure the swift convictions of officers involved in misconduct.  

We had hoped that their case would change things, but then Albert was killed.  

And there are other cases, including Baby Pendo and the 28 victims of the 2023 protests against the rising cost of living. We are still representing these victims and survivors in court. 

Last year, the Missing Voices coalition documented 159 cases of police killings and enforced disappearances in Kenya – including a 450% spike in disappearances. Of the 60 killed at last year’s Gen Z protests, only two cases are being heard in court. 

The Constitution’s Article 48 guarantees access to justice for all. What we are seeing instead are cover-ups, delays, and the inaction of a justice system that seems to work against the most vulnerable and those who don’t have the resources to oil it.   

Protect the right to protest

We need more than hashtags. We must swiftly hold police officers to account and - importantly - conduct a radical surgery of the entire police system, akin to the one done for the judiciary two decades ago.  

IPOA, the Witness Protection Agency, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions need to be funded to work efficiently – but their funding was significantly reduced in the national budget.

We also need to protect the right to protest.

The Gen Z movement showed us that young people are not apathetic to good governance - they care deeply about their country. But when peaceful protest is met with bullets, the hopes and dreams of an entire generation are extinguished.  

Since he took power in 2022, President William Ruto has said many times that there will be no more police killings and enforced disappearances. He repeated the same last week after Albert was killed and called for swift action by the IPOA.  

These promises must be honoured. 

Let us also be clear: this is not about hating the police. It’s about demanding better from them. It’s about saying that no one - no matter their uniform - is above the law. We need a police service that protects, rather than defiles the very core of their oath of office.  

June 25 has become a day marked by bloodshed. Together we must demand a better future: No more police abuse. No more delays. No more cover-ups. No more impunity.  

We owe it to Albert. We owe it to Boniface, who’s still fighting for his life.  We owe it to the young people whose futures were stolen during the protests. And we owe it to every Kenyan who dares to dream of a country where justice is not a privilege - it is a right.