Human rights groups now want President William Ruto to order investigations into cases of forced disappearances and extra-judicial killing days after he disbanded the Special Service Unit (SSU).
Through a statement dated Monday, October 17, Missing Voices, a group of organisations documenting cases of forced disappearances, asked Ruto to form a commission of inquiry into the unit that was attached to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
Missing Voices argued that disbanding the unit without ordering a probe was not a solution to rampant cases of kidnappings and civilian killings that plagued the country in the recent past.
The human rights activists lamented that nearly 600 cases linked to the rogue cops may remain unresolved.
"Those officers implicated or who were part of that unit must be investigated. The killings they committed must be brought before a court of law," Hussein Khalid, Executive Director of Haki Africa, insisted.
"These are grave allegations involving lives, and we think that we need a commission of inquiry to understand what has been going on," Demas Kiprono, Campaign Manager Amnesty International, stated.
According to data from Missing Voices, 145 cases of extra-judicial killings were linked to police in 2019, 168 in 2020, 219 in 2021 and 107 in 2022.
Exiled lawyer, Miguna Miguna, concurred and called on the head of state to hold the unit accountable for its actions.
On Sunday, October 16, Ruto defended the disbandment of the special police unit, arguing that his administration was overhauling the security system in the country.
"I am the one who ordered that the Special Service Unit, which was conducting extrajudicial killings, be disbanded. We have a plan on how to secure this country so that we avoid the shame of Kenyans killed [by the police and their bodies dumped] in Yala River and others.
"We are going to change this country for the better," President Ruto said at a thanksgiving service in Kericho.
Former President Uhuru Kenyatta scaled down the former Special Crimes Prevention Unit to create the Special Service Unit (SSU) in December 2019.
The Flying Squad was also disbanded and replaced with the Sting Squad Headquarters (SSH), composed of about 50 elite officers.
