From: Okiya Omtatah Okoiti

We reject the decision by Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere to promote Mr. Kingori Mwangi to the all important position of Deputy Director, Police Reforms. The appointment smacks of impunity.

On Monday July 7, 2009, we peacefully marched onto the Police Headquarters and petitioned the then Police Commissioner to take disciplinary action against Mr. King’ori Mwangi who has been publicly accused of the extrajudicial killing of Mr. Muzamir Abubakar Kato in Mombasa, on 31st December, 2007, during the Post Election Violence. The petition was copied to, among others, the Minister for Internal Security, the Attorney General, the Prime Minister, and the President.

There was no response to our petition so ICJ Kenya, a legal NGO, wrote to the Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr. Kerriako Tobiko on 14th July, 2010, asking the Department to investigate the case which has also been reported to the Changamwe Police Station. The Department of Public Prosecutions has been unresponsive and no action has been taken.

The promotion of a police officer, who has publicly been accused in writing of murder, without subjecting him to due process where he can meet his accusers and either be cleared or condemned by a competent authority, is a gross endorsement of impunity and an injustice to Kenyans.

The promotion is a significant example of how the Police and the Director of Public Prosecutions sanction police corruption and impunity which has lead to public insecurity, excessive use of force by the police, and deteriorating rule of law. Such institutionalized unaccountable legacies severely constrain the new democratic State’s efforts to reform the police. They will block police reforms aimed at eliminating factors that reduce capacity, legitimacy, and citizen confidence in the police, sufficiently to guarantee public security and earn citizen trust.

A tainted man, a beneficiary of corruption and impunity – the two interrelated entities that together undermine the rule of law – cannot be expected to enact police reforms aimed at strengthening the rule of law.

Promoting Mr. King’ori Mwangi creates an environment in which criminality flourishes, even among the police themselves; citizens have little confidence in the rule of law or the officials entrusted with guaranteeing order; and public insecurity worsens day by day.

Mr. King’ori Mwangi’s presence at the top of the police reform organ cannot imbue the existing constabulary with the right attitudes to work, encouraging specialisation, promoting professionalism and increasing force morale. It cannot be expected to deal with the problem of corruption and impunity in the police service.

The promotion of Mr. King’ori Mwangi sets very low policing norms and standards. It makes the much hyped reforms a mere tinkering with the doctrine and architecture of the police force that will not thoroughly and comprehensively address the key call for reforms that will restore public faith in the police

Democratic governance requires democratic policing and the primary duty of the State is to provide the public with honest, efficient, and effective policing, which ensures the rule of law and an environment of safety and security.

Democratic policing is both a process and an outcome. Only embracing a society’s democratic values can lay down a sound foundation for the development of democratic policing. Critical to the success of democratic policing is the principle that the police should be held accountable: not just by government, but by the wider public, within a human rights framework.

Only our commitment to the rule of law can protect citizens from abusive, unaccountable and criminal policing. Now that we have an enabling atmosphere, we are going to commence public interest litigation proceedings against Mr. Kingori Mwangi for the murder of Mr. Muzamir Abubakar Kato. However, we are hopeful that with the appointment of a new Director of Public Prosecutions under the New Constitution, that this matter will be addressed.

In the meantime, we demand that Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere suspends Mr. King’ori Mwangi with immediate effect.

Signed:

International Commission of Jurists Kenya Chapter (ICJK)

Kenyans for Justice and Development (KEJUDE)

Release Political Prisoners

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