Police Complicity in Election Era Crimes & Violence

Security forces’ excessive force clouds Kenya’s August 2017 elections
Nairobi – In the aftermath of the presidential election held on 8 August 2017, credible evidence has emerged showing that Kenya’s security forces carried out serious human-rights violations during widespread protests. According to the report by Human Rights Watch, law-enforcement officers in Nairobi and western Kenya shot dead unarmed civilians, beat residents, carried out door-to-door operations targeting men and obstructed reporting of abuses—all in the name of restoring order.
The report documents that opposition supporters across Nairobi, the coast and the Rift Valley staged protests after the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission declared the incumbent president winner. Police and security units, including elite rapid-response squads, responded with teargas, water-cannons and live ammunition. In the Mathare and Korogocho estates of Nairobi and the informal settlements of Kisumu and Siaya counties, officers broke down doors, rounded up men, beat them and in multiple cases shot individuals fleeing in fear. One witness recalled hearing an officer shout kill those criminals before opening fire.
The documentation relied on interviews with 151 victims, health-workers, activists and family members, and hospital/mortuary records were reviewed.
Reactions have been swift both domestically and internationally. Civil-society groups and rights monitors have condemned the crackdown, calling for the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) to investigate and prosecute officers responsible.
The Kenyan government, for its part, has denied use of live bullets in many of the contested cases, while calling protesters criminal elements who looted and attacked police.
Rights observers warned that failure to hold perpetrators to account risks emboldening future abuses and undermines the public’s trust in policing.
Looking ahead, the report stresses the urgency of reforming crowd-control protocols, ensuring accountability for police misconduct, and safeguarding the rights to protest and assembly ahead of any repeat or future elections.
For Kenya to strengthen its democratic credentials and preserve peace, independent investigations and visible reforms in the security sector will be key. Without those, similar episodes of violence may recur.