Extra-Judicial Victims’ Families Cry for Justice

Nairobi Star (Nairobi)

Maxwell Masava

2 April 2011

Families of victims of extra-judicial killings continued their cry for justice yesterday by demanding that the government acts on the report filed by United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and Extra Judicial Killings Philip Alston two years ago.

The families and representatives of human rights organizations also appealed to the international community as well as member of the public to intensify pressure on the government to ensure the report is implemented.

In a statement read by a human right representative in Nairobi yesterday, the families demanded that the recently published Police Bill and Police Oversight Bill be introduced to parliament immediately to end new cases of extra-judicial killings.”We are anxious that the extra-judicial killings continue to support, reinforce a culture of impunity and are likely to be used as tools of political blackmail in the ongoing ICC process and in the run up to the 2012 elections,” executive director of Release Political Prisoners Odhiambo Oyoko warned.

The human rights activist told a group of diplomats during the briefing that they expect the Kenya National Human Rights Commission and the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs to institute an inquiry over cases of extra-judicial killings, torture and extortion in the past five years.

This year alone, the State human rights agency says it has received and documented 59 cases of extra-judicial killings. Another private agency, Independent Medical-Legal Unit says it has documented 17 cases while RPP has 15.

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