Kenyan authorities have detained three police officers for involvement in the murder of a human rights lawyer. The officers have not yet been charged, but a judge announced they will remain in detention for two weeks as investigations are conducted. The body of Willie Kimani, a Nairobi lawyer working for the human rights organization International Justice Mission, was found on July 1 along with a client and a taxi driver. Kimani had accompanied his client, Josephat Mwenda, to court after filing a complaint against a police officer for shooting him in the arm. The three went missing shortly after leaving the courthouse.
A statement by 34 international human rights organizations condemned the murders, and hundreds have taken to the streets of Nairobi to protest extrajudicial killings in the capital. Western governments that provide financial support to Kenya have also expressed their concern over the murders and are urging the country to reform and comply with international human rights standards.
From Jurist, July 4. Used with permission.
Nairobi: protesters burn police station
Hundreds of protesters set fire to a Nairobi police station where three men including a rights lawyer were held after being abducted and eventually killed. Amid protests in the city, hundreds of lawyers organized by the Law Society of Kenya marched to Nairobi's police headquarters to demand action. Lawyers across Kenya are on a week-long work slowdown to protest the murders. (AFP, AP)