Victims still waiting for justice as Missing Voices pushes for action
This call comes amid findings that 159 people were either killed or disappeared last year in incidents linked to police actions.
Missing Voices has called for urgent reforms in Kenya’s police service and justice system following a sharp rise in enforced disappearances and continued extrajudicial killings in 2024.
The group said victims and families have not received justice and demanded action from various arms of government and oversight bodies.
The coalition has asked the National Police Service to carry out "intense radical reforms that will ensure non-reoccurrence of the violent policing seen in 2024."
This call comes amid findings that 159 people were either killed or disappeared last year in incidents linked to police actions.
Missing Voices wants the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) to urgently handle cases related to command responsibility, especially those linked to deaths during protests.
"We are concerned that the DPP dropped charges against 8 senior commanders who had been lined up for prosecution," the group said.
It added that revealing witnesses’ identities in charge sheets had put their lives at risk.
The organisation said many cases sent to the ODPP have either been returned for further investigation or closed.
This has made it hard to hold officers accountable for abuses committed during public protests.
Missing Voices noted that police officers should serve as “custodians of law and order” and follow legal procedures when dealing with public demonstrations and unrest.
"We are deeply concerned about the excessive use of force, especially during election periods and consequential picketing and peaceful protests that frequently have ended in assault, grievous harm, and sadly, loss of life," the report stated.
The group demanded that Parliament allocate money to the Victim Protection Fund to support families affected by extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.
It also urged the government to implement the National Coroner’s Service Act and set up a fully functioning National Coroners Service to conduct independent investigations into all deaths.
Missing Voices further pushed for Kenya to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances.
Although the country signed the treaty in 2007, it has not yet ratified it.
The coalition asked Parliament to pass laws that make enforced disappearance a crime under Kenyan law.
The report also stressed the importance of holding senior officers responsible when violations happen under their command.
"This underpins the importance of enforcing the principle of command responsibility," the statement said.
The principle would help ensure accountability even when direct links to individual officers are hard to prove.
To help with investigations, Missing Voices urged IPOA, the Internal Affairs Unit (IAU), and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to use digital tools like photo metadata analysis to collect reliable evidence.
"Reliable digital evidence is critical to ensuring accountability and restoring public trust in law enforcement," the coalition stated.
Missing Voices also encouraged better community policing to bridge the trust gap between security agencies and the public.
They said this would reduce tensions and improve how law enforcement interacts with citizens during protests and other operations.
Despite rising numbers of enforced disappearances—up by 450% in one year—no police officer has been charged in court for these cases.
The group said this lack of justice leaves victims’ families in pain and without answers.
Most victims of police killings were young men, and many of those who disappeared had not been charged or given a chance to defend themselves.
"They have not received justice or compensation by the time of the report," the group said.