NAIROBI, KENYA — The High Court of Kenya has ruled against referring cases of abductions and enforced disappearances to the International Criminal Court (ICC), asserting that national institutions within the country possess the capacity to address such matters.
In its determination, the court specified that incidents involving deaths or injuries occurring while individuals are in police custody, and perpetrated by officers on duty, fall solely under the purview of the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA).
The court underscored that no other investigative body within the National Police Service holds the authority to handle these cases. The ruling highlighted the often-resulting injustice to victims and their families due to parallel investigations conducted by both the police and IPOA.
The court further acknowledged that the pervasive and systematic nature of enforced disappearances and killings in Kenya meets the criteria for crimes against humanity.
Notwithstanding this finding, the court denied the petitioners’ request for ICC referral, reasoning that Kenya’s domestic systems have not yet reached a point of inability to address these issues. “Kenya has not yet reached a point where it is unable to handle such matters,” the court stated.
Justice Lawrence Mugambi, in his observation, noted a lack of sufficient evidence demonstrating a failure of Kenya’s national systems to effectively address these concerns. He also emphasized the principle that police officers cannot conduct self-investigations in cases involving custodial deaths or injuries.
The petitioners, Kituo Cha Sheria, Haki Afrika, and Charles Njue, who were represented by Dr. John Khaminwa and John Mwariri from Kituo Cha Sheria, have indicated their potential intention to appeal certain aspects of the court’s decision.
They had initially sought to compel the government to refer Kenya’s cases of abductions and enforced disappearances to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
