Enn af ástandinu í Kenya! Morðum haldið áfram!

Ákvað að birta hér bréf sem ég rakst á í gær.  Í Fréttablaðinu í dag er frétt um rannsókn sem gerð var í Kenya á dauða fólks.  Flóttamenn sem eru enn í Uganda frá Kenya eru um 12000.  Þau treysta sér ekki heim vegna ástandsins.  Enn er lögreglan að myrða fólk, einsog bréfið ber með sér.

 

Kenya: Executions By Police Must Stop Forthwith

 

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The Nation (Nairobi)

EDITORIAL
11 July 2008
Posted to the web 11 July 2008

Nairobi

Civilisation is built largely on a set of rules, which include the Constitution, statute law and the justice system.

Criminals who break the law are supposed to be punished in accordance with the methods spelt out in the laws.

 

When the State itself breaks those laws in the effort to punish criminals, then the State is itself guilty of criminal wrongdoing.

More than that, it is guilty of flouting the very basic tents of civilisation it is sworn to observe, uphold and protect. It is when the State itself starts to ignore and to break the law that the seeds are sown for the descent into anarchy.

It is in this context that the recent arrest and killing of an unknown young man, Peter Maina Wachira, must be viewed.

Wachira, alongside three others, was arrested by police on June 30. His arrest was recorded by newspaper and television cameras, which clearly showed him being handcuffed by uniformed officers.

Less than 24 hours after the arrest, his body and two others were delivered at the Nairobi City Mortuary by police officers. They were booked in as those of "unknown persons" found by a roadside in Ngong.

It has become routine for police to deny that they are carrying out extra-judicial executions, but there should be no escaping this one.

The Administration Police who made the arrest, and the regular police must own up immediately to murder most foul and ensure that the officers responsible are arrested and made to face the law.

There must also be an urgent review of operational procedures so that any policies which allow for such murders are removed.

Relevant Links

 

East Africa
Crime and Corruption
Human Rights
Kenya
Legal and Judicial Affairs

 

 

Mr Wachira may have been, as suspected, a member of Mungiki, a murderous criminal gang that respects no laws. He still deserved to be judged according to the law.

He may also have been an innocent and hard-working matatu driver, killed by the police on mere suspicion, or in a personal vendetta.

The Attorney-General must immediately take up this case and direct a thorough and impartial investigation, if necessary by an independent agency