Barely a month into office, President William Ruto of Kenya ordered the disbandment of a special police unit placed at the centre of a widening investigation into a wave of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. At least nine officers of the Special Service Unit face charges relating to the disappearance in July 2022 of two Indians and their Kenyan driver. The Indians were in Kenya at the invitation of Ruto’s presidential digital campaign outfit.
Police killings of citizens are shockingly commonplace in Kenya. Those who bear the brunt are mostly poor, young and male suspects of crime or terrorism.
