Kenyan High Court Judge Lawrence Mugambi has convicted the acting Inspector General of Police Gilbert Masengeli of contempt of court as he failed to honour six consecutive court summons.
Masengeli, who is the chief of the Kenyan Police Force, instead sent his deputy, Edwin Lagat, and Chief State Counsel Charles Mutinda to represent him in court. Mr Mutinda explained that Masengeli had been held up with ‘state duties’ in Wajir County and that Mr Lagat ‘would answer to all questions accordingly’.
The court had summoned IG Masengeli to answer to the kidnappings of three individuals in Kitengela, in which police officers are said to have been involved.
During the court hearing, it also emerged that there was police intimidation against Judge Mugambi who was expected to deliver his decision today. Lawrence Opicho, appointed by Chief Justice Koome as Commandant of the Police Unit meant to protect judges, was accused by Judge Mugambi of resorting to threats and intimidation tactics against Judge Mugambi and his personnel.
Both Masengeli and Opicho are due to be sentenced on Friday.
Of Abductions and Extra-judicial Killings.
The High Court’s decision comes in the wake of increased cases of police brutality in the country which have gone unaddressed by President Ruto and his regime. The president’s actions or inactions only seem to strengthen the emergence of a rogue police force in the country.
Police brutality is nothing new in Kenya. President Daniel Moi utilized the police force to ensure his grip on power during his 24-year-long presidency ending in 2002. He made use of a secret police force to spy on and apprehend dissidents and to instil fear into Kenyans, hence preventing them from opposing his rule.
President Kibaki’s regime did see increased independence and accountability of the police force. However, the police force still retained rogue elements which were often used to quell perceived threats to the country’s regime. During Kibaki’s tenure, a ‘criminal police force’ also emerged as cases of police officers engaging in and facilitating criminal activities such as theft, robberies, homicides and murder increased.
Despite his attempts to sanitize the police force into a police service, rogue police activities especially in extra-judicial killings only increased during his tenure.
During his campaign for the Presidency in 2022, Ruto vowed to do away with extra-judicial killings and police brutality for good. However, this promise has remained unrequited and police brutality is at an all-time high. Recent actions by the police suggest that Kenya is well on its way to becoming a police state and the current regime has managed to transform the ‘police service’ into a modern-day Gestapo unit.
The extent of police brutality in the country was revealed during the height of the anti-government protests in June-July 2024. The police force has been involved in suppressing the actions of anti-government protests but the true extent of its reprehensive force was revealed during the so-called ‘Gen Z Protests’.
A Police Force Gone Rogue
On June 25th 2024, the protesting youths managed to storm their way into parliament where they were met with deadly force from police officers guiding the premises.
Police aimed teargas canisters at protestors, police snipers shot at innocent protestors from building rooftops and fired live bullets indiscriminately into dispersing crowds and innocent bystanders alike. As dusk drew closer and darkness set in, entire police squadrons followed the youths back to their abodes, firing more live bullets at them. And in the dead of night, police units stormed the homes of the perceived ‘leaders’ and ‘funders’ of the protestors, abducting them into custody as they sought to force Kenyans into a state of duress for daring to stand up to the regime.
Journalists too were not spared as they were harassed, arrested, beaten and even shot at while covering the protests.
Rinse and repeat for each day protestors took to the streets.
Official numbers state that 13 protestors were killed on June 25th alone. The number of total killings by the police force during the anti-government protests stands at 24. However, this number is quite possibly way higher than is reported as many more people are still missing and suspected to have been murdered in the wake of the protestors.
The government, led by President Ruto, has continued to deny any involvement in the violence arising from the protests, much of which has been fueled by police action and other criminal elements paid to disrupt the peaceful protests.
The protests may have subsided, but police brutality is still prevalent.
Unlawful police abductions are unending, especially against individuals vocal against the government. Scophine ‘Maverick’ Aoko, who is known for her unhinged and unapologetic takes against politicians in the current regime, was the latest to be taken into custody when her house was stormed by ‘100 masked men’ sent from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
Nelson Amenya, the Kenyan who exposed the details of the Adani-JKIA takeover deal on X, also tweeted out that his life was in danger as he had been branded as an ‘enemy of the state’.
Robert ‘Bob’ Njagi and brothers Jamil and Asmil Longlon are some of the latest victims of police abductions. The circumstances surrounding their abduction are behind the court case that led to the summoning of IG Masengeli to the High Court. Cases of many more people being abducted in mysterious circumstances are continually reported daily.
If anything, actions by the Kenyan police chief continually reinforce the bloated power dynamic of the police force; hence perpetuating the perception that it is above the law.
One can argue that is by design. By allowing the police force to retain unchecked powers, President Ruto seems to have copied President Moi’s handbook before him. He has seemingly been on a mission to weaken the independence of government institutions to centralize and solidify all power in the presidency. He started by capturing the executive branch of government, and the legislature (including members of the main opposition party) is at his beck and call.
His guns are now drawn on the judiciary, even as he seemed to have the Chief Justice in his back pocket. However, many more judges are committed to upholding the rule of law, continually making decisions that are ‘unfavourable’ to his regime and putting themselves at loggerheads with him.
It is such independence in the face of reprehension that gives hope that perhaps the rule of law will continue to be observed in this country.
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