Conduct of the Police in Kenya’s 2013 General Elections

Abstract

The conduct of the police during the 2007 elections and post-election crisis in Kenya cannot be forgotten. The tragic stories and repugnant images that shook the world are still vivid even today. At the centre of it all was the conduct of the police. Human rights reports accused the police of acting with impunity during the period. They were responsible for several murders, and even those who were taken to court walked away without punishment. The former head of the police Force, Retired Major General Hussein Ali, was among those who faced charges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague. The ICC pre-trial chamber failed to confirm his charges of crimes against humanity. Since the historic events of 2007/8, the conduct of the police in Kenya has been a key issue in human rights debates and the media. This article is my journalistic foray into the recently concluded 2013 General Election that took place in Kenya on 4^th March 2013, focusing on the conduct of the police before, during and after the elections.