Severed human head sent to Kenya police commission boss

NAIROBI – A human head and two hands have been sent to Kenya’s police commission chief, viewed as a grim warning against his efforts to reform the force, officers said Friday.

A box containing the body parts apparently hacked from the same corpse was left outside the headquarters of the National Police Service Commission in the centre of the capital Nairobi on Thursday, city police chief Benson Kibui said.

Included was a threat for the chief of the largely civilian police oversight body, Johnston Kavuludi, who was appointed last year and is trying to push through reforms.

“Kavuludi, you are next”, a note with the head read.

Comprehensive police reforms were introduced in 2011 aimed at stopping violations committed by police during post-election violence in 2007-2008, but implementation has been blocked.

The reforms transfer some powers from the police chief to the commission, including responsibility for recruitment and discipline of police officers.

“We cannot tell the motive behind this,” Kibui said, calling it a “heinous” act.

The package was initially feared to be a bomb and explosive experts opening discovered the body parts. – AFP.