AfricaFeaturesGlobal IssuesHuman RightsHumanityLaw & OrderSocietyWorld
Nine weeks of bloodshed: how brutal policing of Kenya’s Covid curfew left 15 dead
Violent enforcement of lockdown has led to legal action aiming to force police reform and accountability
Anervous energy filled downtown Mombasa on the afternoon of 27 March.
- John-Allan Namu in Nairobi and Tess Riley
- The Guardian
It was the first day of Kenya’s dusk-to-dawn curfew to curb the spread of Covid-19, and baton-wielding police were patrolling the streets of the coastal city as people rushed to get home.
Confrontation was expected. Kenya’s police have a reputation for being heavy-handed even without the excuse of enforcing a nationwide curfew.
But no one anticipated the brutality that was about to take place…