The Human
Rights Watch (HRW) in conjuction with the Kenya Human Rights Commission
(KHRC) have termed the government response to the 2014 Lamu and Tana
River attacks abusive.
In a report titled Insult To Injury released on June 15, 2015, HRW wants the government to acknowledge the scope and gravity of the problem of abusive operations, to publicly condemn abuses by Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) and other security forces on residents of the said areas, and commit to taking all necessary steps to end the abuses.
1. Failure to respond and protect kenyans agains the terrorists
The report indicates that Al-Shabaab fighters attacked and destroyed the Mpeketoni Administration Police camp without incurring a response from security forces, who only came after the attackers had departed. A businessman and resident of Mpeketoni who witnessed the six-hour ordeal in June 2014 is quoted:
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) report quoted in this HRW report states that soon after the Mpeketoni attacks, officers failed to pursue the attackers as they haggled over allowances before they could accept the mission.
Again in the terrorist attack on Pandanguo village on July 9, 2014 the attackers had time to give a speech in the mosque after disarming Kenya Police Reservists, burn several houses in Pandanguo Primary School and, on the way out of the village after six hours of holding the residents hostage, take maize from two large farms, before leaving at about 3 a.m.
KDF officers arrived in the village around 5 a.m. while police failed to arrive at all.
2. Giving contradictory public statements
After all this, the government is said to have given contradictory public statements on Lamu and Tana River attacks, and who was responsible for them, which may have impeded or undermined effective criminal investigations.
3. Poor investigation and prosecution of suspects
The government is accused to have then conducted poor investigations on the attacks and ineffectively prosecuted suspects.
4. Selective beatings during operations
The 50-page report says that during the July 8, 2014 operation on Ngumu village in Tana River county and on Maziwa “B” village, the officers rounded up ethnic Somali men and school children from their houses or mosques, severely beating nearly all the men in the village caught up in the operation with gun butts, whips, iron bars and sticks. They detained more than 41 people from Ngumu and 26 people from Maziwa “B”.
5. Stealing property
In the report, in both Tana River and Lamu counties, members of the security forces allegedly stole and destroyed property from villagers during the counterterrorism operations, often ransacking residential and business premises and taking money and electronic valuables. A teenage boy in Ngumu village said the security officers raided his house and took sugar, batteries and fresh fruit juice he had processed for sale as part of his income to support his family.
source: Tuko kenya
In a report titled Insult To Injury released on June 15, 2015, HRW wants the government to acknowledge the scope and gravity of the problem of abusive operations, to publicly condemn abuses by Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) and other security forces on residents of the said areas, and commit to taking all necessary steps to end the abuses.
1. Failure to respond and protect kenyans agains the terrorists
The report indicates that Al-Shabaab fighters attacked and destroyed the Mpeketoni Administration Police camp without incurring a response from security forces, who only came after the attackers had departed. A businessman and resident of Mpeketoni who witnessed the six-hour ordeal in June 2014 is quoted:
The police came at 3 a.m. but they never did anything because the fighters had long gone. They just came to collect bodies, assisted by Kenya Red Cross. In some instances, they even refused to go where the injured were despite assurances by us that the attackers had already left.It also indicates that security agents knew of and facilitate the attack. Apparently, attackers ferried weapons to Mpeketoni a few days ahead of the attack under armed protection of a known police officer attached to the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU).
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) report quoted in this HRW report states that soon after the Mpeketoni attacks, officers failed to pursue the attackers as they haggled over allowances before they could accept the mission.
Again in the terrorist attack on Pandanguo village on July 9, 2014 the attackers had time to give a speech in the mosque after disarming Kenya Police Reservists, burn several houses in Pandanguo Primary School and, on the way out of the village after six hours of holding the residents hostage, take maize from two large farms, before leaving at about 3 a.m.
KDF officers arrived in the village around 5 a.m. while police failed to arrive at all.
2. Giving contradictory public statements
After all this, the government is said to have given contradictory public statements on Lamu and Tana River attacks, and who was responsible for them, which may have impeded or undermined effective criminal investigations.
3. Poor investigation and prosecution of suspects
The government is accused to have then conducted poor investigations on the attacks and ineffectively prosecuted suspects.
No one here has recorded a statement with police because the police have not asked for statements. We don’t know how they are carrying out investigations if they cannot talk to those who saw the attackers or the survivors, an employee of the Kenya Red Cross who witnessed the killings in Mpeketoni is quoted.Then, the police went ahead to carry out illegal arrests, coupled by lack of evidence necessary for fair prosecution.
4. Selective beatings during operations
The 50-page report says that during the July 8, 2014 operation on Ngumu village in Tana River county and on Maziwa “B” village, the officers rounded up ethnic Somali men and school children from their houses or mosques, severely beating nearly all the men in the village caught up in the operation with gun butts, whips, iron bars and sticks. They detained more than 41 people from Ngumu and 26 people from Maziwa “B”.
They asked the children as young as five years where their fathers’ guns were. Children were given hoes and asked to dig around the compound and find the guns. They never told us why we were being beaten. I only heard later from my fellow villagers that they were looking for Al-Shabaab a 53-year-old man, also a resident of Ngumu recalled.The security forces did not visit the homes of the non-Somali communities (largely ethnic Pokomo) living in the two villages.
5. Stealing property
In the report, in both Tana River and Lamu counties, members of the security forces allegedly stole and destroyed property from villagers during the counterterrorism operations, often ransacking residential and business premises and taking money and electronic valuables. A teenage boy in Ngumu village said the security officers raided his house and took sugar, batteries and fresh fruit juice he had processed for sale as part of his income to support his family.
source: Tuko kenya