Letter from Nairobi: police killings spark public outrage.

Kenyans are waiting with baited breath this week to see whether the beleaguered attorney general (AG) Amos Wako and police commissioner Hussein Ali will give in to pressure and step aside following a damning UN report on extrajudicial killings in the country.

The public is outraged that the culture of impunity over the years has seen over 500 people, mostly suspected members of the dreaded Mungiki sect, sent to an early grave by security forces who did not give them a chance to defend themselves in a court of law.

But it is even more angry with the one-year-old coalition government for failing to speak with one voice on most issues, including the latest report by the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions, Professor Philip Alston.

Vice president Kalonzo Musyoka, public health minister Beth Mugo and the government spokesman Alfred Mutua have trashed the report, saying Kenyans should not have too much faith in foreigners.

On the other side, prime minister Raila Odinga, constitutional affairs minister Martha Karua and lands minister James Orengo want the controversial report implemented.

Meanwhile, the public is left in a limbo, with most people saying they were dissatisfied with the performance of the coalition government, in particular for failing to deliver on its pledges to fight graft and promote the rule of law and "servant leadership".

The views were similar in Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu, with most people supporting the UN report and calling for the resignation of the AG and police commissioner.

On the controversial Waki Commission report on the violence that followed the December 2007 elections, which identifies the alleged perpetrators for prosecution, the public considers that suspects should be tried at the International Criminal Court in The Netherlands, because it has lost faith in the local institutions, namely the judiciary and the police force.

A move by the government to pass a law to form a local tribunal to try such suspects, most of whom are cabinet ministers, politicians and people with political connections, flopped in February when it was rejected by members of parliament.

The MPs who opposed it said they also had no faith in the local institutions to carry out proper investigations and charge the suspects. This was another sign of no confidence in the AG and the police boss.

Odhiambo Orlale in Nairobi.