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improve terms and conditions for State Counsel in order to attract highly-qualified civilianprosecutors. 48 While there was little progress in the specific cases identified in the report,some steps have been taken toward implementing these recommended reforms,discussed in Chapter IX below.Police Investigation of Sexual OffencesThe Waki Report leveled harsh criticism at the Kenyan police for its failure to investigaterape and other sexual offences committed during the violence. 49 Dozens of women hadfiled rape complaints with the police, but the complaints had not led to a single knownprosecution. 50 On October 17, 2008, two days after the Waki Report was published, thepolice announced it was forming a task force to investigate sexual offences related to theelection violence. 51 The task force was to include female police officers, as well as lawyersand counselors from the Kenyan chapter of the Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA).FIDA, which had documented gang rape by men in police uniform as well as by civiliansduring the post-election violence, withdrew from the task force in November 2008, afterbeing excluded from its planning. 52 According to a FIDA representative, “The task force wasa response to the outcry over the fact that police were not doing anything about victims ofrape. We heard we were to be part of the task force, but we asked the police repeatedly formeetings and they were never convened. There was no willingness to work with us.” 53The task force’s subsequent work has not been widely publicized. A Kenyan women’srights activist told Human Rights Watch, “They went around meeting a few victims, but itlacked credibility.” 54 A representative of a health center that treated sexual violencevictims complained to the press that the task force simply wrote to the center requestingthe names of victims, which would have constituted a violation of clients’ privacy. Staffwrote back to explain they could not grant that request, but proposed meeting to discussstrategies to get victims to come forward voluntarily. The police never responded. 5548 Republic of Kenya, Department of Public Prosecutions, “Report to the Attorney General, 2009”, p. 42.49 CIPEV, pp. 399-404.50 Human Rights Watch interview with Ann Njogu, Chairperson, Center for Rights Education and Awareness (CREAW), Nairobi,September 9, 2011.51 Eric Kiraithe, “Police Task Force to Investigate Rape Cases During the Post-Election Violence,” Kenya Police, October 17,2008, http://www.kenyapolice.go.ke/News136.asp (accessed September 1, 2011).52 “Fida pulls out of probe team,” Daily Nation (Nairobi), November 13, 2008; Bornice Biomndo, “Police linked to poll chaosrapes,” Daily Nation (Nairobi), November 14, 2008, http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/491190/-/tm24ji/-/index.html(accessed July 20, 2011).53 Human Rights Watch telephone interview with a representative of FIDA, September 1, 2011.54 Human Rights Watch interview with Ann Njogu, September 9, 2011.55 “Gang rape during the poll crisis,” Capital News (Kenya), January 9, 2009,http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/2009/01/12/gang-rape-during-the-poll-crisis/ (accessed September 1, 2011).“TURNING PEBBLES” 20

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