U.N. investigators accuse Kenyan police of mass killings demands resignations.
West Palm Beach, FL (JusticeNewsFlash.com)–An investigator for the United Nations (U.N.) called for Kenya’s President, Mwai Kibaki, to fire the police commissioner and attorney general, reported CNN on Wednesday. Philip Alston, investigator for the U.N., cited testimony of overwhelming, widespread extrajudicial killings by Kenyan police officers.
The East African nation is being accused of allowing its police to continue to execute well planned, systematic, and widespread killings in mass. Alston went on to claim the police may kill for extortion, ransom or personal reasons in the name of crime control when arrests can be easily conducted. The U.N. criminal law investigator claims the random police killing of James Ng’ang’a Kariuki Muiruri, a 29 year old son of a former Kenyan Parliament Member last month, is one example of rogue police behavior. The young man and his brother were reportedly pulled over in their car by police, ordered into handcuffs, where upon the police officer shot James three times killing him.
The Kenya government invited the investigator to their East African nation about 10 days ago. Alston alleges government security forces tortured and killed hundreds of men in March 2008 claiming “government crackdown”. Government officials say the police officers were acting on orders given by security enforcement superiors and are legal and necessary.
Alston has suggested the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court investigate the violence after the 2007 election and an independent civilian police oversight group should be created. Kenya is in desperate need of a witness protection program to protect the people who are willing to testify to the police human rights’ violations.
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