Veteran rights defender Khelef Khalifa has announced his intention to sue the police after a distressing encounter that led to his nearly four-hour detention.
Khalifa, director of Muslims for Human Rights (MUHURI), was arrested by police at Mida Creek near Watamu in Kilifi County at 10 a.m. on Saturday as he headed to a family wedding in Malindi.
The incident began when Khalifa and his family were stopped by police officers who were reportedly covering their faces and lacked visible identification.
Khalifa questioned the officers about their masked appearances and the absence of name tags, which are legally required for police identification.
His request for transparency was met with resistance.
Fatuma Ali, the Kilifi County Police Commander, said Khalifa was arrested for failing to cooperate with officers conducting a routine check.
“The man refused to obey orders during a routine police check. But, in the end, the problem was easily sorted,” Ali seems to allude.
Khalifa says he was only trying to understand what was happening, as officers were not following identification procedure.
“I was driving with my family to Malindi when all of a sudden these people stopped us asking us to come out of the car,” Khalifa said.
“I asked them a very simple question. Why were they covering their faces? I could not recognise them.”
“They had no name tags on them as ordered by the courts. In fact, it is in law that they have to identify themselves and display their name tags on their uniform.”
The officers allegedly did not lift their balaclavas and exposed themselves without issuing any identification to Khalifa.
He alleges they took his car keys and ID card before driving him to Malindi police station, where he was detained for nearly three hours.
He was later forced to book a Sh10,000 bond for his release.
Khalifa vowed to take legal action against the police for gross violations of his rights. “I am suing the officers that were involved in this incident,” he said.
Muhuri rapid response officer Francis Auma condemned the incident.
“We are deeply concerned. As a senior human rights defender, Khelef Khalifa should not have been subjected to such treatment,” said Auma.
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