Journal of Law, Policy and Globalization www.iiste.org ISSN 2224-3240 (Paper) ISSN 2224-3259 (Online) Vol.103, 2020 36 Human Rights Violations: An Impetus for Police Reforms in Kenya Between 1978 and 2002 Nelson Mugweru Njiri* Department of International Relations, Conflict and Strategic Studies, Kenyatta University Dr. Susan Mwangi Department of History and Archaeological Studies, Kenyatta University Dr. Joseph Wasonga Department of International Relations, Conflict and Strategic Studies, Kenyatta University Abstract Since independence, police reforms have been influenced by the need to expand democratic space and to ensure protection of human rights. Previous studies have attempted to deconstruct the police reforms. However, the studies have not adequately examined the implications of police reforms on human rights in Kenya. This paper examines police reforms between in Kenya between 1978 and 2002 and their implications on human rights. The study was based on a descriptive survey design and targeted senior serving and retired police officers, government administrators, county government administrators and members of the human rights groups in Nairobi County. Purposive sampling technique was used to select 116 study participants. Data was collected through focus group discussion, interview schedule and document analysis and analyzed based on thematic content analysis. The study findings revealed that Moi’s presidency (between 1978 and 2002) was marked by minimal police reforms but heightened human rights violation including arrests without warrants, detention without trial and torture which resulted in injury and death. This implied that in the absence of substantive reforms, the police disregarded human rights. Hence, the period between 1978 and 2002 was marked by curtailed freedom of association, assembly, speech and expression. Keywords: Human Rights, Police Reforms, human rights discourse, Moi era, Kenya DOI: 10.7176/JLPG/103-06 Publication date: November 30 th 2020 1.0 Introduction Police reforms refer to a plethora of activities related to the transformations in the police institutions (Waller, 2012; Waller, 2012). While being under enormous pressure to counter the increasing wave of crime and threats to security, including those emanating from terrorism, the police has been required to operate in accordance with stipulated laws (Ajulu, 2002). Around the world, the history of police is replete with the use of excessive force and torture (Savage, 2007). For example, in the United Kingdom, police service has been unable to adapt to the evolving social context and to embrace reform in a culture too resistant to change. In the United States of America, crime rate increased in the 1960s widening the gap between community and the police. This sparked strong criticisms regarding police relations with ethnic minority groups and marginalized populations (Skogan, 1993). In African countries, the quest for reforming the police force was driven by inefficiencies in the police service and suppression of human freedoms (Waller, 2012). In South Africa, the key elements of police reforms revolved around access to police services in post-apartheid era (Bruce, 2003). In Kenya, police reform initiatives were influenced by the low level of trust between the police and the public (Hahn, 2003). Gimode (2007) notes that the transformative police reform has been elusive partly because the police has been implicated in human rights violations. In the period between 1978 and 2002 during Moi’s presidency, human rights violations were rampant and the complex intersection of contextual, operational, bureaucratic and cultural constraints complicated human rights-compliant policing. As a result, police reforms were needed to safeguard the rights of the incarcerated and the fundamental freedoms and rights of the citizens. However, the efforts to regulate police did not minimize violation of human rights. Instead, the police remained coercive and unfriendly and implicated in torture, neglect, arbitrary arrests and extra-judicial killings (Gimode, 2007). This raised concerns as to whether the police reforms had any positive impact on human rights. This formed the basis of the study which examined the factors that informed police reforms in Kenya between 1978 and 2002 and their implications on human rights in Kenya. 2.0 Literature Review When Kenyatta died in 1978, Moi was regarded as the most suitable leader to steer the country towards a more inclusive and tolerant county. This was confirmed in December 1978 when Moi released political prisoners