Six high Kenyan officials have been charged by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) with crimes against humanity for their part in violence that left more than 1,000 people dead after the disputed 2007 presidential election. Of the six, two men exercised direct authority over the Kenyan police who carried out 405 extrajudicial killings. Francis Muthaura, secretary of the cabinet under president Mwai Kibaki, is charged with authorizing the police to use excessive force against [opposition] OMD supporters. Hussein Ali, who was chief of police until last year, stands accused of authorizing excessive force by his officers and of facilitating attacks against opposition supporters during the post-election violence.
Cultural Survival’s report on a series of military-style attacks committed by police against Samburu communities in the North Rift Valley during 2009 and 2010 documented similar police brutality which may have been authorized by these same officials.
By holding these high Kenyan government officials accountable, the ICC may chip away at the atmosphere of impunity which has permitted Kenyan police to victimize their political opponents and ethnic communities like the Samburu.
