EFSCRJ has come across a disturbing video on social media showing a rough and indiscriminate searching of a woman alleged of stealing with her child by the KMC Municipal Police. The police have a duty to maintain law and order including apprehending suspects and subjecting them to necessary search and investigation. Those who break the law or violate human rights should be subjected to due process.
We are however deeply concerned at the way and manner the KMC Municipal Police officers ruffled and searched the lady with her child. Their conduct demonstrates a total lack of professional standards and ethics which severely undermine the fundamental rights and dignity of the suspected woman and her child.
To have male officers search a woman and render her partly naked, while forcefully separating her from her innocent child without any regard to the tender age of the baby is abusive. The environment in which the woman and children were placed characterized by loud and aggressive voices with rough pushing and pulling does not demonstrate professionalism and consideration of the welfare of the child, whose privacy was exposed in the video. Furthermore, to subject the suspect and her child to amateur video recording and then releasing the highly dehumanizing video publicly demonstrates a lack of professionalism and disregard for human rights by the officers.
In this regard, EFSCRJ hereby recommends:
- The authorities at KMC to urgently investigate this incident and ensure that officers responsible are held accountable and share the outcome of the inquiry publicly.
- KMC Police to train their officers adequately and develop necessary protocols, tools and facilities for arrest, detention, search and recording of such incidents for purposes of professionalism and accountability.
- The Inspector General of Police to provide necessary training and other support to all municipal police services to ensure professionalism, adherence to the rule of law, efficiency and accountability in their work.
- The National Human Rights Commission to provide necessary capacity building and development of policies, guidelines and tools for municipal police services to ensure their adherence to the rule of law and effective protection of human rights.
- Women, child and disability rights CSOs to engage all municipal police services to provide them necessary capacity building on the rights of women, child and persons with disabilities.
On our part, EFSCRJ wishes to offer training, free of charge, to all municipal police services on human rights protection for law enforcement officers.
2025: The Year of Transparency and Accountability
