Human rights in Kenya: Police blamed for

The police have been blamed for the death of hundreds of people in and around Nairobi over the last several months. The accusation, contained in a preliminary report released by Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) on 5 November, follows investigations into the alleged execution-style killings of 454 "young Kikuyu male adults" between June and October this year.

The killings supposedly took place within the context of a police crackdown on the outlawed Mungiki sect, which runs protection rackets and other criminal activities mostly out of Central District and Muthare slum in the capital.

Police operations began in Nairobi following a series of bloody incidents blamed on the sect in late May. The crackdown led to the arrest of hundreds of suspects but it also caused disruption and fear among local residents caught up in the violence, leading national and international human rights organisations to express concern about the apparently arbitrary nature of the police operations.

The police have dismissed the KNCHR report as "irresponsible" and denied all connection with the deaths.