VOA常速英语2007年-Kenya Rights Groups Blames Police for Extrajudi

By Derek Kilner
Nairobi
07 November 2007

A state-funded human rights body in Kenya on Wednesday produced what it is calling further evidence of widespread extrajudicial killings¹ by Kenyan police. As Derek Kilner reports from Nairobi, the police have vigorously denied the accusations².

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights and the national police are engaged in a dispute over a report released on Monday by the commission. The report charges the police with nearly 500 cases of extrajudicial killings earlier this year in a crackdown on the criminal Mungiki gang.

On Tuesday, Police Commissioner³ Hussein Ali accused the human rights commission of making accusations without evidence. In response, the commission on Wednesday held a news conference to draw attention to evidence supporting allegations of police misconduct.

At the conference, Commissioner Njonjo Mue ran through some examples in the report.

"We are not sure which part of the report we should highlight for the police commissioner as constituting evidence," said Njonjo Mue. "Should it be the part that shows that bodies of people shot through the head were left in the wild even after reports were made to the police? Or should it be the part that documents a surprising rise in the number of bodies dumped in mortuaries as soon as the crime crackdown on Mungiki was announced".

A senior official at the commission, Kamanda Mucheke, then presented a series of post-mortem reports conducted by doctors, including one about a victim who had been shot in the head.

"The cause of death was rear head injury due to double gunshots to the head," said Kamanda Mucheke. "These gunshots were fired at very close range. This amounts to an execution"

Police spokesman Eric Kiraithe says he has not heard the commission's latest presentation, but he disputes the claim that 500 victims have been identified

"The legitimacy⁴ of the figure 500 is seriously doubtful," said Eric Kiraithe. "I've looked at that report. I've not seen an appendix of the names. We have not seen the circumstances under which those people are said to have died. And that figure we believe is a fabrication."

The Mungiki gang was responsible for a violent crime wave earlier this year in Nairobi and other parts of central Kenya. The attacks have waned⁵ in recent months.

Kiraithe says the police deserve credit for an overall decline in violent crime in Kenya and particularly in Nairobi, which has been notorious for its high crime rate.

1 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

2 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

3 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

4 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

5 waned   

v.衰落( wane的过去式和过去分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡

参考例句：

• However,my enthusiasm waned.The time I spent at exercises gradually diminished. 然而，我的热情减退了。我在做操上花的时间逐渐减少了。 来自《用法词典》
• The bicycle craze has waned. 自行车热已冷下去了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》