NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 30- All the 6 bodies recovered in the Arabal area of Baringo County had their heads blown off and deformed, a damning report by the Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU) has revealed.
In what points out to a clear case of execution, the bodies that included that of an Independent Electoral Boundaries Commission (IEBC) official, had multiple gunshot wounds.
“Some of the bodies had clean cuts, broken fingers, and mechanical fractures of the upper limbs which has no tissue bruising,” IMLU Executive Director Peter Kiama said in a statement on Saturday.
But who executed them?
Arabal and Kapedo area have witnessed runaway insecurity for the past few weeks, which culminated in the killing of the General Service Unit (GSU) deputy director of operations, the late Emadau Tebakol.
Two days later, the National Police Service (NPS) lost two more officers to armed bandits, said to be engaged in the business of cattle rustling, which intelligence report indicates “it is financed by wealthy individuals.”
Kiama said, “according to the preliminary reports provided by our team, it was reported that the deceased had their hands tied before being shot to death.”
Further, the bodies had wounds, “that may have been inflicted after death.”
An autopsy on all the 6 bodies revealed that the gunshot wounds ranged between four and ten gunshots per head.
“The finding from the autopsy point to a clear execution of the six men and this violates the right to life and right against torture as per Section 26 and 29 of the Constitution. The alleged torture disregards article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both of which provide that no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Further, based on the postmortem examinations’ findings, there is a clear violation of the sixth schedule of the NPS Act 2014,” Kiama said.
Following the revelation, IMLU has called for immediate probe to be led by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), Internal Affairs Unit (IAU) and the Kenyan National Human Rights Commission, to establish whether the police officers currently engaged in an operation to weed out bandits were involved.
“These investigations should be undertaken with the ultimate goal of prosecuting the perpetrators and ensuring that the families realize justice,” Kiama said.
To address the underlying security issues in the area and across the country, he called on the National Police Service to support and enhance the practice of community policing in Kenya “in a bid to ensure that amicable ways of resolving disputes are adopted.”
“This can immediately be effected through expanding the partnership to all other government agencies, with the residents in that area. This will not only improve public safety but also the quality of life for all persons within the County.”
National Police spokesperson Charles Owino said police will camp in the two troubled areas “for a long time,” saying the operation was being carried out within the law.
He denied that the security officers were engaging in extra-judicial killings and other human rights violations.
“We are not hiding anything,” he said during a press conference on Friday.
Some 7 people have been arrested since the operation kicked off, and 35 firearms recovered.
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