Former Chief Justice David Maraga has revealed that at least 3,958 Kenyans have been killed by police since President William Ruto took office in 2022, describing the figure as alarming.
Speaking on Monday, August 31, while releasing the Taskforce Report on Police Reforms, Maraga stated that police brutality has claimed an average of 990 lives per year over the last four years.
He noted that this number is higher compared to the 4,035 Kenyans killed under the ten-year combined leadership of former Presidents Uhuru Kenyatta and the late Mwai Kibaki, who averaged 404 deaths annually.
Former Chief Justice David Maraga. Photo: Courtesy.
Maraga warned that a partisan police force was among the root causes of the 2007/2008 post-election violence and cautioned that similar risks remain if reforms are not implemented.
The former Chief Justice read out the Taskforce’s recommendations to address police brutality and institutional failures.
The proposals include repealing the 2014 amendments to Sections 12, 13, and 30 of the National Police Service Act and ending the abuse of Section 80(2) of the Public Service Commission Act.
The Taskforce also recommended restoring competitive recruitment for the Inspector-General, Deputy Inspectors-General, and the Director of Criminal Investigations, as well as making fresh appointments under constitutional provisions.
Maraga further argued that current Inspector General Douglas Kanja and DCI Mohamed Amin are illegally in office.
He explained that both officers were appointed after exceeding the mandatory retirement age of 60 for public officers. Section 80(2) allows contract extensions beyond that age only for rare skills that the service cannot find elsewhere.
In February 2024, the Public Service Commission extended Kanja and Amin’s tenures after they had crossed the retirement age.
Later that year, the President named Kanja, then 61, as Inspector-General.
Maraga questioned what rare skills the two hold that other senior officers lack, noting that neither was chosen through open competition, making their appointments illegal.
