Report calls on State to operationalize National Coroners Service Act over homicide incidents

The National Crime Research Centre wants the government to operationalise the National Coroners Service Act.

It said that while the National Coroners Service Act of 2017 provides a framework for investigationsand determination of the cause of reported sudden, unexplained and unnatural deaths, it is yet to be operationalised.

“The Act needs to be operationalised to address the gaps in the determination of circumstances of deaths,” a report says.

This is after a study conducted found out that men were the primary victims, especially in cases related to cattle rustling, communal conflicts, drunken altercations, land-related conflicts and many mob violence cases resulting from suspicions of theft.

Women were predominantly killed in incidents of domestic violence, land/property succession disputes, love triangles and other crime-of-passion related incidents, the report said.

“In some places, the perpetrators targeted people in employment and the business persons/community. In other places, elderly women, especially those living alone in rural areas and whose husbands were far away working in towns, were often victims of rape and killings.”

“Women returning home from funeral vigils and disco matanga in places such as Busia were also targets,” the report dubbed ‘Study on Homicides in Kenya’ found out.

Men were found to be the overwhelming majority of victims as well as the perpetrators of homicides, while women were largely victims, with few cases of female perpetrators.

The study found that a majority of those killed in Kenya were killed by people they knew, or were in a form of relationship of one kind or another and that unresolved conflicts at the family and community levels explain most of the killings.

Established killings are fuelled by a growing culture of violence driven by, among others, the low public confidence in the criminal justice agencies and a perception that it is easy to get away with crime.

“Homicide data, as reported to the NPS and DCI headquarters, does not lend itself to comprehensive analysis to guide strategy and policy. There was no single driver of the various killings across the country. Rather, there was a host of drivers that intersect at the individual, family and society levels.”

The report of the study, which covered 2024, wants the police to develop an incident-based system of homicide data by revising the current system of reporting homicides to the headquarters from summary statistics to reporting of incidents.

It also wants authorities to strengthen and improve the quality of police investigations, enhance police capacity for forensic analysis and strengthen the Directorate of Homicide Investigations.

It also recommended the promotion of public trust in the criminal justice system and police to address 'cold cases.'

“There are a significant number of cases that have remained unsolved for many years and which the public believes will never be solved.

These “cold cases” are part of the reason that the public has little confidence in the ability of the police to address homicides.”

“The failure to resolve cases also undermines the rule of law and may also fuel more killings as the perpetrators believe that they may escape punishment. The Cold Cases Unit within the Directorate of Homicide Investigations needs to be strengthened with more resources and capacity to resolve these cases,” says the report.

It also recommended for the education of the public on plea bargaining, bail and bond, enhancement of the capacity of the Government Chemist, strengthening of support to victims of crime and addressing the drivers of killings in a coordinated manner.

NCRC recommended for addressing the problem of alcohol, drugs and substance abuse and harmful cultural practices and patriarchal norms.

This is after it emerged that some of the killings were linked to cultural beliefs in witchcraft as well as patriarchal tendencies that promote child marriage and gender-based violence.

“The Ministry of Interior and National Administration, through the National Government Administrative Officers (NGAO) framework, is well placed to provide leadership on this. In addition, the County governments, educational institutions, other non-state actors like the media, NGOs can also play a pivotal role in public sensitisation and awareness programmes.”