November 6th  2003
November 6, 2003
The Police Commissioner,
Vigilance House,
Nairobi.

Dear Sir,

Ref: Complaints on Central Police Station, Nairobi

We wish to bring to your attention various complaints against the Central Police Station Nairobi. The recent case highlighted in the Press in which a street boy has been blinded by a police bullet and then kept for a long period in the cells is an example of what is happening every day at the Central Police Station. Had the Media not highlighted the case of the boy, he would still be languishing in the cells. It is the height of crudity and brutality to have shot the boy, taken him to the mortuary and then to the cells, after realising that he was not dead. This just shows how the police force has remained barbaric, even as other organs of government reform.

Here are some facts about the Central Police station? The Central Police Station is holding suspects for longer periods than
the law allows, we have established. Suspects charged with petty offences, such as creating disturbances, are held for as long as 10 days before being taken to court.

Example: When we visited the station, we found out that there was one man who has been held for 10 days on charges of obtaining by false pretences. The man says that all he wants is to be charged in a court of law, instead of being held at the police station indefinitely. This is contrary to the law and an abuse of the same. He is not alone. We know of many other suspects held for longer than the law allows.

Police officers at the Central Police Station beat up suspects at will. In our full view, during our fact finding mission, a police
officer identified as Namai, assaulted a suspect, slapping him and dragging him on the floor, for no apparent reason. We can identify this officer at any time. He has been accused of being one of the most cruel officers at the station.

The OC Crime demands bribes openly. In our case, he offered to release a suspect, who had been held for five days on a petty charge without being taken to court, on a Shs 5,000 ‘cash bail’ as long as we did not ask for a receipt. This he did before he realised that we were from RPP and that we had a lawyer with us. This is outright bribery.

The police officers from the station have made it a habit to round up as many suspects as possible for purpose of extorting money from them. Suspects are released after paying between Shs 500 and 1,000. Those who end up at the station are only released after coughing between Shs 3,000 and 5,000. This happens especially on Tom Mboya Street and adjourning areas.

We recommend for your office to conduct an investigation on how many persons have been arrested in the last two months and how many were actually charged in court. We also demand that your office identifies the culprits and punishes them accordingly.

We hope you shall treat this issue with all the urgency it deserves as the police officers in that station are spoiling the good name that the government is so much trying to create.

Kang’ethe Mungai,
Executive Coordinator.

c.c
The Minister in Charge of Internal Security, Office of the President.
The Vice President, Office of the Vice President.
The Minister, Justice and Constitutional Affairs.
The Chairman, Kenya National Human Rights Commission.
The PPO, Nairobi.
The OCS, Central Police Station.
Kenya Human Rights Network (K-Hurinet).
Amnesty International.
All Media organisations.