Kenyans are fed up and they want the powers that be to know it. On Monday, Kenyans led by members of the civil society held protests in cities and towns across the country calling for an end to extrajudicial killings by security forces. Kenya has had a long history of such killings but the issue has again been brought to the fore following the murder of Willie Kimani (a respected lawyer), Josphat Mwenda (his client) and Joseph Muiruri (their taxi driver) last week.
The three are believed to have been abducted, tortured and killed by police officers. Three officers are already in the dock charged with their murders. The brazen nature of the killings (the lawyer and his client were abducted just after attending a court session) and the fact that the three had their lives snuffed out in their prime has shocked many Kenyans. During the street protests in Nairobi and elsewhere on Monday, some young people carried empty coffins and placards asking “Is is a crime to be a young person in Kenya?”
The killings appear to have touched a nerve with Kenyans who, after months in which the country has latched from one scandal to another, were experiencing a bout of scandal fatigue. Protests happened not just in the capital Nairobi but in various other counties as well. Lawyers, in solidarity with their departed colleague, refused to go to court and instead led the calls for justice in streets. As part of the protests, lawyers in Kenya say they will not be going to court this week.
Lawyers in Burundi have also shown solidarity with their colleagues in Kenya.
The whole tree
The police have been quick to circle the wagons. A widely quoted statement from the force says the officers involved in the killings are a “rogue” bunch, a “few bad apples” that don’t reflect the force. Many Kenyans beg to differ.
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More protests led by members of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) are planned for Wednesday.
