Human Rights Watch demands release of report on probe of Kware murders
In a press statement, Otsieno Nyamwaya, the associate director of HRW Africa, said volunteers had claimed that police officers had threatened them and forced them to stop retrieving the bodies.
The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged the government to conclude the inquiry into the discovery of 17 mutilated bodies at a quarry in Embakasi, Nairobi and announce the outcome of their investigation.
HRW and Mukuru Community Social Justice Centre (MCSJC) said the inquiry should include allegations of threats and intimidation of Mukuru community members and activists by the police.
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In a press statement, Otsieno Nyamwaya, the associate director of HRW Africa, said volunteers had claimed that police officers had threatened them and forced them to stop retrieving the bodies.
The civil society groups say the community members and relatives of missing persons have fears that authorities are determined to cover up the truth about what happened to the victims and who was responsible, and the government agencies have not taken action to address the concerns and clear themselves.
"Rather than obstruct the retrieval of bodies, Kenyan police should promptly and thoroughly investigate the circumstances surrounding dumping of bodies at the quarry," said Nyamwaya.
"The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) should investigate police conduct, including threats to volunteers who helped retrieve bodies from the quarry and ensure the prosecution of those involved in the abuses."
HRW and MCSJC interviewed 21 people, including relatives of victims whose bodies were retrieved from the quarry, activists involved in the retrieval of bodies, one police officer and Mukuru Kwa Njenga residents.
Researchers also reviewed the autopsy reports of 17 of the bodies retrieved from the quarry and analysed satellite images of the quarry from mid-June to the end of July.n
Nyamwaya says security forces restrained members of the Mukuru community from retrieving the bodies since July 12, 2024, when they removed the first body from the water-filled abandoned quarry.
He said officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), General Service Unit (GSU) and general duty police officers made a concerted effort to stop the retrieval, including ordering volunteers to stop or risk being charged with the deaths.
Nyamwaya sensationally claimed that some volunteers involved in retrieving the bodies have been escaping abduction attempts.
One of the volunteers told researchers that he had survived two abduction attempts: the first on July 19, 2024 by 12 armed and uniformed police officers from the GSU and the DCI, and on November 20, 2024 by two men in civilian clothes accompanied by three uniformed officers from Kware Police Station in an unmarked white Toyota fielder with tinted windows.
"President William Ruto should ensure that volunteers who stepped in to retrieve bodies when police were unwilling to do so are not threatened, harassed, or abducted for simply performing their civic duty as good citizens," the statement reads.
"He should further ensure that police direct their expertise and resources at ensuring justice for victims of the crimes at the quarry."
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