Kenyan police - The African Mirror

Aug

22

2024

Kenyan police officers charged with assisting jailbreak of suspected serial killer

NEWS

FIVE Kenyan police officers have appeared in court and faced charges of assisting in the escape of a suspected serial killer and 12 others from a police station in Nairobi, according to court documents obtained by Reuters. The officers were on duty during the jailbreak that occurred on Tuesday. Reuters reports that prosecutors requested that the court detain the accused officers for an additional two weeks to allow for a thorough investigation into their potential involvement. A man suspected of being one of Kenya’s worst serial killers has been arrested for the murder of 42 women, including his wife. They…

Jul

17

2024

By The African Mirror

Kenyan police on high alert following threats of new protests

NEWS

KENYAN police used tear gas to disperse protesters who were burning tyres in renewed anti-government demonstrations. The protests, which Reuters describes as "the biggest crisis of Ruto's two years in power," were initially sparked by proposed tax increases but have continued even after President William Ruto made concessions, including withdrawing $2.7 billion in tax hikes and reshuffling his cabinet. Reuters reporters observed approximately 200 protesters in Kitengela, a town near Nairobi, chanting slogans against Ruto and demanding his resignation. The news agency also reported similar scenes in Nairobi's city centre and the coastal city of Mombasa. The article notes that…

Jul

04

2024

By DANIELA MOHOR, STANLEY JERÔME and NYABOGA KIAGE

Haiti in-depth: Ten key questions as Kenyan police deploy to restore order

WORLD

6 June 2024 This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian. By Daniela Mohor, Stanley Jerôme and Nyaboga Kiage After months of delay, an international policing mission is finally under way to help Haiti wrest back control of the capital’s streets from gangs and pave the way towards the Caribbean nation’s first elections since 2016. Approved by the UN back in October last year, the Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission has met significant opposition: in Kenya, a judge ruled that it was unconstitutional; in the United States, which is largely bankrolling the deployment, Republicans demanded more transparency and…

Jul

03

2024

By The African Mirror

Kenyan police deployed to rein in Haiti gangs

WORLD

A first contingent of 400 Kenyan police officers has left for Haiti to kick off a UN-approved mission aimed at reining in rampant gang violence in the Caribbean nation. Led by three senior police officials, including the deputy inspector general, the full Kenyan deployment is expected to reach 1,000 personnel but is also expected to be part of a larger multinational effort, which is mostly being bankrolled by the United States. “I commend – and am deeply grateful to – all the countries that have pledged personnel and financial support to this mission that will grow to 2,500 multinational personnel, led by…

Jun

28

2024

By MOINA SPOONER

Kenyan police and protests: researchers on a violent, corrupt security force that’s beyond reform

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

KENYA’S police are being criticised for their violent response to protests over the past week against government proposals to raise US$2.7 billion in additional taxes. Hundreds of thousands of people, across 35 of Kenya’s 37 counties, poured out onto the streets in opposition to the tax hikes. The police have reacted with force, using live bullets and tear gas. At least five people are known to have been killed and hundreds have been injured. The reaction by the police force didn’t come as a surprise. Kenya has a long history of policing with excessive force, often resulting in unnecessary deaths.…

Jun

26

2024

By EDWIN OKOTH and AARON ROSS

Kenyan police to arrive in Haiti this week, US State Department says

NEWS

THE first Kenyan police officers assigned to tackle rampant gang violence in Haiti are leaving Kenya and are set to arrive this week, the U.S. State Department said. "We hope to see further measurable improvements in security, particularly with respect to access to humanitarian aid and core economic activity," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters. Kenya volunteered in July 2023 to lead an international force to tackle violence in the Caribbean nation, where gangs control most of the capital Port-au-Prince and have carried out widespread killings, kidnappings and sexual violence. The deployment has been repeatedly delayed by court challenges and a deterioration of security in…

Jun

21

2024

By The African Mirror

Worldcoin to resume Kenya operations after police drop investigation

BUSINESS

KENYAN police have dropped an investigation into allegations that Worldcoin had illegally collected and transferred users' personal data, according to a police document, paving the way for the cryptocurrency project to resume its operations. Authorities suspended Worldcoin in August last year, following privacy objections over its scanning of users' irises in exchange for a digital ID to create a new "identity and financial network". Worldcoin is being rolled out by Tools for Humanity, a company co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Its website says it has signed up 5.7 million users across more than 160 countries. "Upon review of the…

Oct

31

2023

By DUNCAN MIRIRI

Kenya blocks airing of allegations of UK army abuses before king’s visit

NEWS

KENYAN police blocked a news conference intended to air allegations of human rights and environmental abuses by British troops in the country, hours before King Charles arrives for a four-day state visit. Buckingham Palace has said Charles' visit will acknowledge "painful aspects of the UK and Kenya's shared history". The British ruled for more than six decades before the East African nation won its independence in 1963. The allegations in question relate to a period long after the end of colonial rule. Residents of central Kenya's Lolldaiga area have accused a British army training unit based nearby of causing a 2021 wildfire…

Jul

13

2023

By The African Mirror

Tax-hike protesters clash with Kenyan police, two shot dead

NEWS

STONE-THROWING demonstrators clashed with police and two were shot dead, officers on the scene said, in anti-tax protests in cities and towns around Kenya called by opposition leader Raila Odinga. Police fired tear gas to disperse protests in the capital Nairobi, the port city of Mombasa and several other towns, according to Reuters reporters and footage aired on Kenyan television stations. Some of the most intense clashes took place on the expressway linking Nairobi to its international airport, where protesters lit fires and pulled down the flower boxes that usually line the road to use as barricades. Police officers patrolling…

Jul

08

2023

By AYENAT MERSIE and HUMPHREY MALALO

Kenyan police clash with anti-tax hike protesters, dozens arrested

NEWS

KENYAN police fired tear gas and fought running battles with opposition supporters in major towns around the country protesting against a raft of tax hikes. Opposition leader Raila Odinga called the protests to oppose tax increases imposed at a time when many are already struggling with high prices of basic commodities such as maize flour. Kenya's High Court ordered that the tax hikes be suspended but the government has raised petrol prices anyway, leading to a further court challenge. Police arrested 17 protesters in the capital Nairobi, said a coalition of human rights groups including Article 19. Another 11 activists were arrested…