The Humans Rights Watch has urged security agencies in Kenya to use more humane methods during counterterrorism investigations. This comes after research done by the organization, concerning unexplained disappearances and killings in recent years, which have been unaccounted for in the past few years. According to the report, at least 34 people in the past two years have disappeared during counterterrorism operations in Nairobi and in northeastern Kenya. “People in northeastern Kenya deserve protection from Al-Shabab attacks, not further abuse from the authorities,” said Ken Roth, who is the Executive Director at Human Rights Watch, he added, “Rounding people up and refusing to disclose their whereabouts is a serious crime and only compounds fears and mistrust in the security forces.” There has been a notable silence from authorities when it comes to the disappearance of people in the past years, and the Executive Director urged the government to be decisive and break the silence, given that silence may mean they condone these disappearances.
The Human Rights Watch executive director urged the international security agencies that help the country in the counterterrorism operations, mainly from USA and UK, to concentrate more on helping curb the menace of disappearances and extrajudicial killings, instead of providing more sophisticated weapons. He was keen to highlight the fact that the problem lies within the security agencies themselves, and urged the government to form a commission of inquiry with comprehensive jurisdiction in order to ensure accountability and truth prevails.
His sentiments were echoed by Muslims for Human Rights executive director Hassan Abdille who insisted that the police force has continually refused to reform, ”Initially it was known to be the Anti-Terror Police who were perceived to be involved in these cases, but now most security agencies are somehow involved,” he said. He urged president Uhuru Kenyatta to preserve his legacy, and be wary of the memories left behind after his presidential term ends, given that no . Humans Rights Watch spent more than eight months investigating the abuses in Nairobi and in northeastern counties of Garissa, Wajir and Mandera, and a total of 117 people were interviewed.
