Democracy and Rights Festival 2019

On this year’s edition of the Democracy and Rights Festival, I was invited to make a presentation on data around extrajudicial killings in Kenya. Nation Media Groups data journalism segment Nation Newsplex created the Deadly Force Database , a database of extrajudicial killings based on public, media, and human rights reports and on official records held by agencies of the Government of Kenya. The data covers the period from 2015 to date.

Insights
On average, 16 people are fatally shot by police every month in Kenya. From 2015 to date, August records a spike in the number of people shot by police. Hypothesis on August could be liked to high season for tourism hence high propensity to commit crime. Other factors could be school holidays and other economic activities planned during the period. Data-driven policing can help law enforcement fight crime while lowering incidents of fatal shootings.

Discussion

Panel discussion on the statistics around extrajudicial killings in Kenya and the impact on families and communities of victims

After the presentation, a panel made up of Crime si Poa, Hussein Khalid, Social Justice Group in Gthurai and artist to talk about the statistics. Some of the key issues discussed include;

• Extrajudicial killing data should include mob justice. 
• The data on number of extrajudicial killings does not capture the emotional cost of killings on families and communities.
• The extrajudicial killings data capture urban killings but not rural killings which are outside the purview of mainstream media.
• Extrajudicial killings should incorporate other concerns such as femicide

• Category: Guest Speaker
• Tag: democracy, extrajudicial, featured, kenya, killing

Published by blackorwa

Simple things done well View all posts by blackorwa