The Kenya Human Rights Commission has drawn a line in the sand, giving the Director of Public Prosecutions seven days to act on police brutality.

The culture of impunity within the National Police Service has faced a sharp rebuke today as the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) issued a strict seven-day ultimatum to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). The demand is clear: proffer charges against the officers responsible for the cold-blooded killing of Sharon Adhiambo, a promising first-year student at the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC), or face a wave of public and legal backlash. This ultimatum is not just a procedural request; it is a desperate scream for justice in a city where the uniform has become synonymous with terror for the youth.

The Killing of Sharon Adhiambo

The incident that sparked this latest outrage occurred on February 7 in Huruma, Nairobi. Sharon Adhiambo, whose only crime was being in the vicinity of a police operation, was shot dead. Eyewitness accounts suggest a reckless disregard for human life, a hallmark of recent police engagements in low-income settlements. Sharon was not a criminal; she was a student, a daughter, and a future healthcare worker whose life was snuffed out by the very state machinery paid to protect her.

The KHRC’s statement was blistering. "The silence from the DPP is deafening," a spokesperson noted. "We cannot continue to count bodies while the oversight institutions shuffle papers." The killing of Sharon follows a disturbing pattern. Just months prior, during the Saba Saba protests, officers were caught on camera executing a hawker, Boniface Kariuki, in broad daylight. The slow wheels of justice in that case have only fueled the police's sense of invincibility.

• Systemic Rot: The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) is currently investigating, but civil society groups argue that IPOA has become a "toothless bulldog," overwhelmed by the sheer volume of police executions and hampered by a lack of prosecutorial cooperation.
• The Threat of Action: If the 7-day deadline expires without charges, the KHRC has threatened to mobilize mass public litigation and street protests, bringing the pressure directly to the DPP’s doorstep.

A Crisis of Command

This ultimatum comes at a time when the National Police Service is under intense scrutiny. The "killer cop" phenomenon is no longer an anomaly; it is a systemic feature. Reports from human rights watchdogs indicate that over 100 young men and women have been killed in Nairobi's informal settlements in the last year alone, often under the guise of "fighting crime."

The tragedy of Sharon Adhiambo is a grim reminder of the cost of this unchecked power. Her death has robbed the country of a potential medical professional, a loss that is unquantifiable. The DPP now faces a critical choice: uphold the rule of law and signal that police badges are not licenses to kill, or continue the legacy of inaction that allows rogue officers to roam the streets as executioners. The clock is ticking, and Nairobi is watching.