Muslim Leaders, Right Groups To Meet Top Security Officers Over Extra-Judicial Killings

NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 16- The government has invited Muslim leaders and human rights groups to a meeting to discuss the alleged forced disappearance and extrajudicial killings of terror suspects.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i said the meeting that will also be attended by the National Police Service, the National Counter-Terrorism Center, and the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) will review the alleged involvement of state agencies in the disappearance and the killings.

Amnesty International will be a co-convener of the meeting that will also discuss counter-terrorism measures in the country and that will feature the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (SUPKEM), the National Muslim Leaders Forum (NAMLEF), the Jamia Mosque Committee, Haki Africa, and the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) among others.

“We will sit down and agree on where the truth lies. We want people to put out information on what they know because this constant blame on the police and other state agents should come to an end. It will be an open, absolutely candid process,” the CS said.

Matiang’i who hosted Muslim leaders and human rights representatives to a meeting in his office defended the government against the accusations of sanctioning kidnapping and the killing of terror suspects.

He described the alleged extra-judicial killings involving the police as isolated acts of rogue officers who operated outside the official chain of command and which therefore did not reflect an official operation policy.

The CS said that the government was aware of a few cases of contract killings involving police officers who were privately hired as hitmen to settle personal feuds and said such officers had been dealt with.

“The acts of a few officers should not be allowed to tarnish the reputation of an entire force. We will keep on ridding the Service of rogue elements to set examples and to remind everyone that this is a civilian government that does not believe in killing its own citizens,” he said.

In a petition delivered to the CS, the delegation alleges that security agents are suspected to be behind the killing of 146 people so far this year and the enforced disappearance of at least 34 terror suspects.

The meeting was also attended by Correctional Services PS Zeinab Hussein, Deputy Inspector General of Police Edward Mbugua, IPOA Chair Anne Makori, NCIC Chairman Rev Samwel Kobia, Amnesty-Kenya Executive Director Irungu Houghton, Hassan ole Naado (Supkem), Abdullahi Abdi (NAMLEF), Hussein Khalid (Haki Africa) and LSK CEO Mercy Wambua among others.