Torture, Politics of Pain and Transitional Justice in Kenya: A Historical Perspective

Abstract

This paper seeks to examine evolution of torture in Kenya between 1952 and 2013, it examines the extent of torture which was used as a tool for statecraft and how those in authority have historically unleashed torture as an unconstrained and atavistic tool of state repression. Scanning through the colonial dungeons, the inquisitional interrogation, the auto-da-fe, the witch-trial, and the most horrid of prisons, this paper explores systematic use of repression through the Kenyatta, Moi and Kibaki states by paying attention to various means of punishment, torture, coercion, and torment. We argue that ‘the torture debate' proved instrumental in raising a fundamental question, ubiquitous today: How can the state combat a discourse which expressly defies courts, in order to legitimize such obscene acts?