President William Ruto is a man under pressure from the United States of America over the excessive use of force on protesters in the country.
This is follows the visit by Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights Uzra Zeya to pass the same message that he had received from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
According to Zeya, the police should protect the people and not terrorize them and if they surpass their mandate, they will face the wrath of the same people who will need answers from them.
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“I encourage President Ruto to take concrete action on his recent public pledges to strengthen the rule of law, strengthen anti-corruption initiatives and advance accountability within his own government.
I think the key question is the implementation of these commitments, into action. And one specific area is the importance of investigating reports of security forces abuses, prosecuting those responsible and ensuring that accountability is achieved.” she said
Zeya was speaking following her meeting with the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) who accused the police of hindering their efforts to demand justice for those suffering from the actions of the police.
She continued by emphasizing that where their violation of human rights, then they have a right to be concerned and call out those responsible.
“It’s well known that US security assistance and partnership cooperation programmes are also subject to US law that requires that we are vigilant with respect to our partners upholding human rights and where there are allegations of gross violations of human rights, we have to be attentive and call for accountability.” she said
Her message to President Ruto from Blinken is that a prompt and transparent investigation is conducted to hold those accountable to book.
“”Throughout the protests led by our embassy but supported by my boss US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, we’ve urged the government of Kenya to conduct prompt, transparent investigations into allegations of violence and hold those responsible accountable,” said Zeya
