Following Kenya’s incursion in November in October last year, the operations of the Kenya military and the police in Northern Kenya and Somalia remained a top-secret. Kenya media reports were awash with news about Kenya’s military “pursuing the enemy”. Little was told about its other dark side. But reports emerge about the pains the locals endured for “hiding al-Shabaab”- the horn of Africa terror group.
Kenya Armed Forces meted on refugees at the Ifo camp in Dadaab in Northern Eastern Kenya. Many suffered fractures on the limbs and deep cuts on their heads.
On December 21, armed regular and administration police landed on the sleepy camp and conducted a swoop and in the process allegedly raped women, looted properties worth millions. The incident follows after a bomb explosion in the camp prompting the security to conduct an operation to net the culprits, but in the process, even women and the elderly found themselves at the receiving end.
A local human rights body based in Garissa County, Northern Eastern Kenya, Citizen Rights Watch (CRW) has slammed the brutal and the cruel manner in which refugees were treated by the Kenya security.
The Executive Director, Abdiweli Mohamed said the injured were denied medical access and P3 forms- a legal document which is produced in court as evidence in cases that involve bodily harm.
“Instead of looking for the real culprits, they descended on innocent people beat them senseless, and denied medical treatment,” said Abdiweli. The victims include doctors who were attending to the injured.
“The police cannot beat anyone on the pretext of maintaining security,” he posed. “They must move decisively to apprehend the people behind the attacks instead of targeting innocent civilians,” he said.
“If Kenya respect human right let them bring the perpetrators to book,” he added.
The Provincial Police Officer (PPO), North Eastern Province Leo Nyongesa and the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) spokesperson Emmanuel Chirchir denied the reports.
Abdiweli said if the government fails to take action, it will constitute legal action against the state.
On his part, the Kenya parliament deputy speaker Farah Maalim, while speaking to the BBC Somali Service lashed at the police for being insensitive to the already suffering refugees.
“One will hope to seek solace when coming to a refugee camp but what would you expect when your saviors turn to be your tormentors,” he said.
He called upon the police commissioner Mathew Iteere to take a stern action against the perpetrators.
