NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 1- In what would be a win for human rights organizations in Kenya, Kenya Kwanza Presidential candidate William Ruto says his government will create the coroner general’s office, if elected president in August 9 polls.
Leading human rights groups led by the Amnesty International-Kenya and the Independent Medico-Legal Unit have been calling for the establishment of the office, as per the National Coroners Service Act.
The Act was enacted in 2017 but it is yet to be operationalised.
The Deputy President made the promise during the Kenya Kwanza manifesto launch on Thursday evening, at Kasarani stadium.
“The Kenya Kwanza Alliance commits to completing the full implementation of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 and to promote the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Number 16, on peace, justice and strong institutions,” the Deputy President said.
If created, the coroner general’s office will be required to create a devolved office whose mandate will be to investigate any mysterious deaths and determine the cause.
Such offices will also be required to provide forensic medical science services to the police through corpse and scene management.
The Act creates a mechanism for mandatory reporting of reportable deaths and complements police investigation with forensic medical science by establishing a Coroner’s Service.
Under the Act, the Coroner General would be the one conducting investigations on the deaths and be represented by a coroner in each of the 47 counties.
Calls to establish the office have been increasing and more so now when human rights organizations continue to document rising cases of extra-judicial killings.
In February this year, more than 20 bodies were found dumped in River Yala, in Siaya County. Some of the bodies had signs of torture, such as head wounds and broken limbs.
Ruto said his government will not tolerate such killings including cases of enforced disappearances.
Through the Missing Voices, a consortium of more than 15 human rights organizations, hundreds of cases of extra-judicial killings, continue to be recorded.
In 2019, the Missing Voices documented 145 cases of police killings, in 2020 they recorded 158 cases and 10 cases of enforced disappearance.
In 2021, Missing Voices documented 187 cases of police killings and 32 enforced disappearances.
In 2022, the latest statistics on the Missing Voices portal indicate that 60 people have so far been killed by police.
Out of those killed, 57 were as a result of police killings, and 3 disappeared in police custody according to the consortium.
Want to send us a story? Contact Shahidi News Tel: +254115512797 (Mobile & WhatsApp)
