Kenya police killed 67 in violence after vote annulment: Rights groups

Human rights groups say as many as 67 people died during a police crackdown on protesters following the annulment of the August presidential election in the East African nation.

In a report released on Monday, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said at least 33 people died in the Kenyan capital Nairobi during crackdown on opposition supporters. According to the report, police in Nairobi used "excessive force" and that "most of (the 33 who died) were killed as a result of action by the police."

"Researchers found that although police behaved appropriately in some instances, in many others they shot or beat protesters to death," the report added.

Among those killed were a nine-year-old child shot dead while standing on a balcony and a woman who was eight months pregnant and was trampled to death after fainting from inhaling tear gas, the report noted.

The report came after researchers from the two rights groups interviewed 151 victims, witnesses, police and others in Nairobi's low-income areas known to be opposition strongholds.

People said police pursued them, kicking down doors and shooting and beating some to death.

Elsewhere in the report, the rights bodies said that security agents had carried out operations in Mathare, Kibera, Babadogo, Dandora, Korogocho, Kariobangi and Kawangware slums between August 9 and 13.

Michelle Kagari, a deputy regional director with Amnesty International, accused Kenyan police of using excessive force to curb protests. "This deadly use of excessive force has become a hallmark of police operations in Kenya and must be decisively stopped before the next election takes place."

HRW had earlier documented 12 killings after the vote by police in western Kenya, the main opposition stronghold.

During the violence, the parents of a six-month-old baby in western Kenya told Reuters their child was clubbed by police in her home and died later in hospital from brain trauma.

The report is likely to bolster the case of Kenyan activists who accuse police of brutality and extrajudicial killings. Activists say few officers are charged and convictions are extremely rare.

Meanwhile, Kenyan police have disputed the findings by the rights groups. The National Police Service said in a statement that the report was "totally misleading and based on falsehoods."

SS