Own Correspondent|Police have killed 12 people and injured 30 people after President Uhuru Kenyatta’s curfew directive.

The curfew from 7 pm to 5 am was meant to stop the spread of Covid-19 but the number of those killed by police has turned to be slightly lower than 19 people who have died of Coronavirus.

The Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU) said that 41 people have also been tortured by the police during the same period.

“During this period, we have monitored and documented 41 cases of police torture, cruel and inhumane degrading treatment perpetrated by law enforcement agencies and an Assistant Chief.. Out of the 41 cases, 11 were deaths and 30 injuries from torture and ill treatment,” IMLU said in its report.

The Unit expressed grave concern following growing death and injuries incidences by police who have used the lethal force in the country during the initial 30 days curfew that ran between March 27 and April 26 this year.

“Out of the 41 cases that we have documented, 33 are male and 8 female aged between 13 and 65 years; 34 cases were perpetrated by police officers and 7 by an assistant chief,” IMLU said.

The Non governmental organization said that the curfew started off with police across the country using excessive force, thrashing and tear-gassing crowds of people on their way home from work.

“This is regrettable especially at a time when the country is fighting a global pandemic,” the NGO said.

They called on the police to uphold human rights standards while enforcing the dusk to dawn curfew in the fight against Covid-19.

IMLU commended police officers who have worked tirelessly, often in difficult circumstances to enforce the various preventive measures under the public Order Act and Public Health Act.

Human rights groups have condemned the “unnecessary and excessive use of force” by Kenyan police as the country imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew amid efforts to slow the spread of the new coronavirus.

On Friday, police fired tear gas at a crowd of ferry commuters in the port city of Mombasa before the 7pm to 5am curfew came into force, 20 human rights groups, including Amnesty International, said in a statement on Saturday.

This forced hundreds of people to touch their faces as they vomited, spat and wiped away tears, increasing the chance of the virus’s spread, the statement added.

Some health workers even reported being intimidated by police officers as they tried to provide services after the curfew, according to the rights groups.

Elsewhere, officers were captured in mobile phone footage beating people with batons, causing uproar in the country.

“We continue to receive testimonies from victims, eyewitnesses and video footage showing police gleefully assaulting members of the public in other parts of the country,” the rights groups said.

Kenya’s interior ministry on Saturday replied to the criticism in a statement saying the curfew “is meant to guard against an apparent threat to public health. Breaking it is not only irresponsible but also puts others in harm’s way”.

The guidelines issued to security forces on the curfew say that police can use “proportionate force where non-violent means are inadequate to achieve the objectives of the curfew”.

The government has not said how many people have been arrested. Because courts are also affected by the virus prevention measures, all but serious cases will now be dealt with at police stations, the government has said.

That means anyone detained for violating curfew faces time in crowded cells.

Kenya has so far confirmed 38 cases of the new coronavirus, which causes a highly infectious respiratory disease called COVID-19. The country has taken a series of measures to stop its spread, including shutting borders and banning most air travel.

The Law Society of Kenya will go to court to challenge the curfew on the grounds that it is “unconstitutional” and has been abused by police, President Nelson Havi said in a statement.

The penalty for breaking a curfew is not corporal punishment, he added.

“It is evident that COVID-19 will be spread more by actions of police than of those claimed to have contravened the curfew,” Havi said.