EDITORIAL OF

EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS IN
KENYA

On 1 August 2021, two brothers – Benson Njiru (22) and Emmanuel Mutura (19) – died in police
custody in Embu in central Kenya. A few weeks later, John Kiiru (38) was “allegedly clobbered
to death by officers” in Kayole, Nairobi. In both instances, the only crime the men seem to have
committed was breaching the country’s curfew, which requires everyone (bar essential service
workers) to stay indoors between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. to help curb the spread of COVID-19.
Kenyans are understandably in uproar about this tragic loss of life as reflected in local protests
and social media commentary (JusticeForKianjokomaBrothers), and statements by various civil
society

Extra-judicial killings or executions by police and other armed security forces – such as the
Kenya Wildlife and Forest Services – are commonplace in contemporary Kenya. As Perris Jones,
Wangui Kimari and Kavita Ramakrishan noted back in 2017, “Though there is a glaring dearth
of accurate data . . . there is a widely held perception of a spike in during the mid 2000s in
President Mwai Kibaki’s first term [2003-2008], then a relative decline in his second [2008-
2013], before an upsurge since 2013.”

However, while these reforms have initiated some real change, they have failed to create a
“service” and have instead gone hand in hand with an upsurge in police killings. While life is the
most basic of rights, many individuals are robbed of this through the unjust practice of
extrajudicial killing, which is the deliberate killing of persons without a fair and unbiased trial by
jury. This practice is not a new phenomenon, as these types of killings date far back into history
in the form of assassination and even genocide. What’s even more troublesome is that these acts
of violence are often ordered by State agents and are perpetuated by armed opposition groups. 

Similar tragedies can be seen in other developing countries such as Afghanistan and Iran. Yet, it
is hard to gauge the exact number of deaths since many governments refuse to release accurate
statistics. Extrajudicial killings can take on a variety of forms, oftentimes appearing legal when it
is, in reality, the exact opposite.  Under the guise of upholding public safety and anti-crime
policies. these killings become justified in the eyes of the government. This makes it harder
to bring officials, police, or other government-controlled forces to justice.

Additionally, many of the groups who carry out the orders of these corrupt government
officials remain unidentified. This lack of transparency makes it difficult to find solid
evidence supporting the fact that these killings had even occurred.

Therefore, extrajudicial killing should just be unacceptable in this society and the
individuals who take part in this criminal act should be put to justice …. everyone one on
EDITORIAL OF
EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS IN
KENYA
this earth has a right to live a good and happy life but with this extrajudicial killings
happening everyone is at rick at doing so.