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Kenya: Police Officers Leading Perpetrators of Violence – Study

Published

5 years ago

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Nearly half of Kenyans have said police violence is the biggest human rights problem the country is facing.

A recent survey released by Infotrak, a research consulting firm, shows that 49 percent of Kenyans rated police brutality as the leading human rights violation.

The poll, which was jointly commissioned by the Kenyan National Commission on Human Rights, Kenya Legal and Ethical Issues Network, Katiba Institute, International Commission of Jurists – Kenya Section, Haki Jamii, Haki Africa, Federation of International Women Lawyers, Centre for Rights Education and Awareness and Amnesty International, sought to study Kenyans understanding and perception of the current Constitution.

Police officers emerged as the leading perpetrators of violence at 68 percent followed by judges at 21 percent and politicians at 17 percent in the poll that interviewed 1,500 people across 24 counties with a response rate of 97 percent and a 2.53 percent margin of error.

The results show that central and Nairobi regions are the worst affected by police brutality.

Interestingly, only 36 percent of Kenyans are willing to take action when faced with human rights abuses.

“33 percent will report to the police while 27 percent will publicly demonstrate against violators,” noted the report.

In terms of regions, the poll noted that people living in eastern Kenya are more likely to do nothing when their rights are violated compared to their counterparts in north eastern and western regions who are likely to go to the police.