U.S warns President Ruto over use of excessive force on protesters

President William Ruto has come under increasing pressure from the United States government for the prosecution of security officers who have employed extra-legal tactics to crack down on peaceful protesters.

Less than two weeks after the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken passed a similar message to him on the phone, his Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights Uzra Zeya delivered the message to him in person.

“Let your actions match your words” was the unerring message from the U.S government to President Ruto, with respect to holding police accountable for the deaths and trampling of civil liberties in response to protests against his government.

Zeya said that the police should protect and not terrorise the citizenry, and where they violate this principle as has been witnessed during the protests, they should be answerable to the people for their actions.

"I encourage President Ruto to take concrete action on his recent public pledges to strengthen the rule of law, strengthen anti-corruption initiatives and advance accountability within his own government,” she said.

“I think the key question is the implementation of these commitments, into action. And one specific area is the importance of investigating reports of security forces abuses, prosecuting those responsible and ensuring that accountability is achieved."

Zeya made these remarks after meeting with various security sector players among them the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA). which has accused the Office of the Inspector General of Police of sabotaging its efforts to investigate the killing of protesters by the police.

As for whether there will be consequences should the US government's call for the respect of human rights go unheeded, Zeya said; "It's well known that US security assistance and partnership cooperation programmes are also subject to US law that requires that we are vigilant with respect to our partners upholding human rights and where there are allegations of gross violations of human rights, we have to be attentive and call for accountability."

The Under Secretary denied that the US government has turned a blind eye to these violations after it bestowed the great honour of a State Visit on President Ruto two and half months ago.

"Throughout the protests led by our embassy but supported by my boss US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, we've urged the government of Kenya to conduct prompt, transparent investigations into allegations of violence and hold those responsible accountable," she said.

In the course of her two-day visit to the country, Zeya passed on the same message to Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo and Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Mohamed Amin.

She also met with others in the justice system players including Chief Justice Martha Koome and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).

"We see anti-corruption as a major area of focus. This is a very important priority policy for the United States. So this is an area where we are going to concentrate our efforts. The recovery of assets stolen by the kleptocracy," she noted.