Members of Parliament on Tuesday, April 18 came to the defense of police officers after a petitioner accused them of being involved in the forced disappearances of Kenyans.
According to the members of the National Assembly's Public Petitions Committee, some of the disappearances were caused by terror groups, bandits, and even Mungiki.
"Other disappearances aren't only by the state officers. Your agenda is just for the perpetrator and not the victim. Every law put forth has pros and cons, we need to balance in this legislative proposal," the committee's chairperson Nimrod Mbai argued.
Furthermore, MPs queried why only four countries in Africa have ratified the criminalisation of enforced disappearances in line with “Article 4 of the Declaration on the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance.”
However, the members noted that the Courts shared that there's a distinct lack of enthusiasm by the police to investigate the rampant disappearance cases.
Meanwhile, the petitioner, Kituo Cha Sheria Director Annette Mbogoh, suggested that there should be penalties for the act of forced disappearances to tame the rising cases of extra-judicial killings.
She argued that currently, there were no laws holding suspects accountable as more Kenyans went missing while in police custody.
Mbogoh noted that despite Kenya signing an International Convention instrument, it was yet to be ratified.
She defended her submission arguing that police officers were majorly to blame for the disappearances.
Notably, some foreigners visiting and living in Kenya were also kidnapped while others were killed under mysterious circumstances.
From Ethiopia, businessman Samson Teklemichael was abducted in broad daylight in the middle of the road and was taken to an unknown location in November 2021.
His family and friends have been in and out of different security personnel offices in a bid to know the whereabouts of their kin.
