Police-linked murder: At least three Kenyans killed per day by law enforcers

Nearly three Kenyans died every day from police brutality during the first four years of President William Ruto’s administration, according to retired Chief Justice David Maraga, as he warned that years of promised police reforms have failed to end a culture of impunity in the National Police Service.

Speaking on Monday while releasing the report of the Presidential Taskforce on Police Reforms, Maraga said 3,958 deaths had been recorded during Ruto’s first four years.

This translated to an average of 990 deaths a year, or about three deaths every day.

The figure, he said, was significantly higher than the 4,035 deaths recorded over 10 years under former President Mwai Kibaki, an average of 404 a year, and the 4,150 deaths recorded during former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s 10-year tenure, an average of 415 a year.

Maraga, who chaired the task force, said the comparison was particularly troubling because the Kibaki-era figure included deaths linked to the 2007-08 post-election violence.

“We must note that under President Ruto, more deaths, currently at 3,958 in four years, an average of 990 per year, are a result of police brutality, a number far beyond 4,035 in 10 years for President Kibaki, who averaged 404 a year,” Maraga said.

He added that the Kibaki figure included post-election violence deaths, while the Uhuru-era figure stood at 4,150 over 10 years, an average of 415 a year.

The chief justice emeritus took the unprecedented step of publicly releasing the report, which he handed to Ruto on November 16, 2023.

The move brings into the public domain the recommendations of a presidential task force whose findings had remained largely inaccessible.

At the heart of the report is a stark assessment of Kenya’s failure to transform the police from a force associated with political interference and coercion into a professional, accountable and people-centered service.

Maraga said the country’s history of political violence had demonstrated the dangers of a partisan police service.

“Look at the harvest: organised political violence and partisan policing in Homa Bay, Kerumbu and Ol Kalou; blood in churches in Kisumu, Nairobi and Witima, all under the Presidency’s watch, and for obvious political benefit,” he said.

“A partisan police force was a root cause of the slaughter of 2007/2008. Kenyans should not forget that the 2010 Constitution’s independent institutions clauses were written in that blood,” he added.

Maraga argued that Kenya’s repeated attempts to reform the police have failed because successive administrations have not fully complied with the constitutional framework designed to protect the service from political interference.

“The answer to this malaise is simple: comply with the Constitution. Repeal the 2014 mutilation of sections 12, 13 and 30 and end the abuse of Section 80(2) of the Public Service Commission Act,” Maraga said.

He also called for competitive recruitment of the Inspector General, Deputy Inspectors General and the Director of Criminal Investigations.

The report paints a picture of a police service that has undergone repeated reforms without fundamentally changing the way it operates.

“None of these has yielded the desired result. Instead, every year, the National Police Service is routinely ranked as the most corrupt institution in the country without any sanctions, thus breeding a culture of impunity, which has spread to the other uniformed services. The failure of community policing to take off is emblematic of this impunity,” Maraga said in the report.

The task force noted that Kenya has spent nearly two decades attempting to reform the police following the 2007-08 post-election violence.

The Commission of Inquiry into Post-Election Violence, commonly known as the Waki Commission, found that the police were responsible for deaths, failed to protect the public and took sides in the political contest.

Since then, taxpayers and international partners have poured billions of shillings into police reforms through constitutional amendments, legislation, regulations, training and civilian oversight mechanisms.

“Efforts to reform NPS have included a change in the Constitution, the enactment of a raft of laws and regulations, and the establishment of civilian oversight mechanisms,” the report says.

Yet the task force found that many of the problems identified by previous commissions and reform initiatives remained unresolved.

Ruto publicly embraced the reform agenda after receiving the task force’s recommendations.

On Sept. 18, 2024, he launched the Strategic Framework for Implementation of Reforms for the National Police Service, Kenya Prisons Service and National Youth Service, setting out a Sh106 billion plan to overhaul the security services.

Of the amount, Ruto said Sh22 billion would finance improvements to officers’ compensation, Sh37 billion would go toward hardware upgrades and welfare reforms, while Sh45 billion would be required to modernise the services.

The president also promised changes to the National Police Service Act, the National Police Service Commission Act and other foundational laws to align them with contemporary policing standards.

“New legislation, including the Kenya Correctional Services Bill and the National Forensic Science Laboratory Services Bill, will provide the necessary legal structures to support the changes we are implementing to modernise the security services and propel them to the highest standards of policing and best practice,” Ruto said.

But nearly two years after the launch of the implementation framework, the police service faces renewed scrutiny over deaths, excessive use of force and persistent questions about accountability.

The renewed debate has been fueled by the continued reports of police killings and brutality, as well as controversy surrounding the service’s operations during protests.

The introduction of new police uniforms has also reopened debate over the stalled reform agenda, with questions emerging over whether the government has focused on the visible aspects of policing while leaving deeper institutional problems unresolved.

In the last three decades, at least seven major taskforces and commissions have been formed to reform the National Police Service, yet successive governments have failed to fully implement their recommendations.

They include the 2002–2005 Technical Taskforce (Dr John Mutonyi); the 2008 Waki Commission; the 2009 Ransley Taskforce; the 2010–2012 Naikuni Committee; the 1996–1997 Presidential Committee on Terms and Conditions; and a policy framework on housing and community integration.

Maraga's taskforce, is the latest to warn that without implementation, Kenya risks returning to political violence.

 

History of Police Reforms

2019: Uhuru launches police restructuring, new command arrangements, uniforms, housing and training.

November 2022: Ruto promises police will be professional, independent and accountable.

December 2022: Ruto establishes police reforms task force.

October 2023: Ruto accepts key Maraga Task force recommendations.

November 2023:  Maraga task force submits final report.

2024: Parliament allocates additional Sh3.5 billion towards police remuneration as part of reform implementation.

June–July 2024: Police brutality becomes a central issue during Gen Z protests.

June 2025: Senate condemns extrajudicial killings following blogger Ojwang's death.

July 2025: Ruto orders police to shoot people destroying property in the legs rather than kill them.

August 2026: President Ruto launches new police uniforms, allowing the police to abandon all-blue uniform

August 2026: Maraga releases Taskforce Report says Ruto has failed to implement the recommendations and restore police independence