At Missing Voices, we are driven by a profound mission: to end enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions in Kenya. Our journey is guided by the unwavering belief that every life matters and that justice should prevail. Explore the core of our organization, our values, and the driving force behind our advocacy.
When confronted with human rights reports or media accounts, Kenyan authorities continue to either deny or dismiss the existence of government policy on enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions.
The majority of extrajudicial executions are preceded by enforced disappearances, a sinister pattern that significantly escalates whenever security agencies are engaged in eliminating suspected organized criminal groups. Moreover, security agencies themselves have been implicated in enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions during counter- terrorism operations, which are carried out by multiple security agencies, including the police, the army, and para-military police.
In response to these alarming trends, the Police Reforms Working Group Kenya (PRWG-K) has created this website. Our mission is to bridge the evidentiary gap by layering victims' testimonies with consolidated quantitative data. The Missing Voices website is designed to fulfil four key functions:
- Documentation and Advocacy: We meticulously document cases of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions, giving voice to the victims and their families. By sharing their stories and the data associated with each case, we advocate for accountability and justice
- Awareness and Education: We raise awareness about the prevalence of these grave human rights violations and their impact on individuals and communities. Through informative content and resources, we strive to educate the public and policymakers
- Support and Resources: For the families of victims, we provide support resources, including legal aid information, counseling services, and guidance on navigating the legal system. Our goal is to assist those affected by these tragedies in their pursuit of justice
- Advocacy for Reform: We advocate for policy changes and reforms within security agencies to eliminate the culture of impunity and ensure the protection of human rights. By shedding light on these issues, we aim to bring about systemic change.
Through the Missing Voices website, we endeavour to shed light on the dark corners of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions in Kenya, honouring the lives lost and advocating for a more just and accountable society. Together, we can work towards a future where such grave violations are eradicated, and human rights are upheld without compromise.
Together, we envision a Kenya where every life is valued, every voice is heard, and human rights are upheld without compromise. We strive for a society free from enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions, where justice, accountability, and compassion prevail.
Our mission is to end enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions in Kenya. We are committed to shining a light on these grave human rights violations, amplifying the voices of victims and their families, and advocating for justice and reform. Through documentation, advocacy, and support, we work tirelessly to ensure that every life counts and that human rights are protected, upheld, and celebrated.
The bulk of the data for this joint Police Reform Working Group (PRWG)-K website was obtained from published reports on extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances published by human rights organizations in Kenya from 2007 to present. This was to ensure aggregated, refined number without duplications on the cases being reported.
The methodology used set definitions and a standardized criterion, which is rigid to ensure consistency, validity and accuracy in the numbers being reported. To ensure the veracity of the data, the process of data collection was to compile all reports already published by organizations that have done field research and log their work once they fulfil the set criterion of Missing Voice. Once the website starts to receive tips, organizations of the Police Reform Working group have created a referral system to follow-up on the tip. This means they will use the tip to get more information on the incident, conduct interviews, gather information and evidence adhering to the standardized criteria. Once documentation is completed and it meets the evidentiary threshold, it will be published on the website. However, if the incident cannot be corroborated then it will not be published.
Enforced disappearance is a particularly heinous violation of human rights and a crime against international law. Article 2 of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED), defines the term ‘enforced disappearance’ as: ‘The arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty;
By agents of the State or by persons or groups of persons acting with the authorization, support or acquiescence of the State;Followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person;Which places such a person outside the protection of the law.’Extrajudicial Executions is the killing of a person by governmental authorities without the sanction of any judicial proceeding or legal process.
According to the Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-Legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions “shall not be carried out under any circumstances including, but not limited to situations of internal armed conflict, excessive of illegal use of force by a public official or other person acting in official capacity or by a person acting at the instigation, or with the consent or acquiescence of such a person, and situations in which deaths occur in custody.”
The Government must facilitate provision of quality policing services in accordance with values and principles of public service as set out in the constitution which provides for, inter alia, high standards of professional ethics.
The police, like other public offcers must be held accountable for their actions and decisions in policing. As such, we provide a platform for citizens to hold them to account.
Policing must be people-centered with citizens’ involvement in decision making. This is geared towards enabling active participation of citizens in the police reforms agenda.
PRWG-K advocates for better living and working conditions for police offcers including improvement of their living conditions, better remuneration, provision of tools and equipment.
Over the last couple of years, PRWG-K has actively participated in police reform activities including monitoring police vetting process, providing training and technical support to members of the National Police Service, monitoring police recruitment exercise and monitoring implementation of police reforms among others. All these activities are aimed at making the NPS professional and accountable to the public in terms of service delivery.
In May 2017, the PRWG-K, together with a coalition of grassroots human rights defenders launched a campaign drive to end extra judicial executions in Kenya. The campaign brought together key actors within the community and representatives from the National Police Service and the Independent Policing Oversight Authority to discuss and address increased cases of extra judicial killings, identify and document credible victim stories, bring out community voices through victims accounts and provide a platform for public engagement with law enforcement agencies.
Missing Voices was necessitated by the need to have a centralized database, and preserve the told stories and memories of those forcefully disappeared and unlawfully killed.
