In brief
- The Inspector General should guarantee that his officers are not hiding the name or registration of any vehicle used to deal with protestors.
The Inspector General of Kenya’s National Police Service has been directed to ensure that plainclothes police do not hide their faces during encounters with demonstrators.
High Court Judge Bahati Mwamuye stated that the Inspector General should guarantee that his officers are not covering up the identification or registration of any vehicle used in dealing with protestors. The judge granted the ruling in response to a petition brought by the Law Society of Kenya. LSK’s lawyer, Dudley Ochiel, told the court that the deployment of plainclothes officers always creates a sense of insecurity, limiting people’s freedom to protest.
“These unidentified officers cannot be held responsible for their actions.” As a result, they tend to use excessive force. “They cannot be held accountable because they are unknown,” Ochiel stated.
He reminded the Judge that until the court intervenes and the trend is reversed, Kenyans risk being killed and stripped of basic freedoms.
Justice Bahati, who approved the LSK issue as urgent, asked the IG to guarantee full compliance with the requirement that all uniformed personnel wear their names or a recognizable service number at all times.
