Kenya police accused over deaths

Police made hundreds of arrests of Mungiki members in June

Kenyan police have been accused of the execution-style killings of nearly 500 people in and around the capital, Nairobi, over the past five months.

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) made the claim after investigating the disappearance of hundreds of men from the Mungiki sect.

Police carried out a major operation against the outlawed criminal gang in June after a series of grisly murders.

The allegations have been dismissed as "irresponsible" by a police spokesman.

'Classic execution signs'

A dossier drawn up by the KNCHR alleges that police were behind the execution-style killings of nearly 500 men between June and October this year.

Most of the bodies were found at the main mortuary in Nairobi after relatives reported loved ones missing following a major police operation against the Mungiki sect.

Observers at the time said the police campaign also led to the deaths of several innocent civilians.

The KNCHR dossier says that almost all the bodies bear the "classic execution signs of a bullet behind the head", leading to what they claim is the inescapable conclusion that the police could be complicit in the killing.

The human rights group has challenged the police to justify how hundreds of bodies turned up in mortuaries in such a short time, but the police cannot explain the deaths.

The police have rejected the report as "irresponsible" and have denied any involvement.