Naema Celestine 
| Leah Nelima |
Due to the dubious police behavior seen during the countrywide protests, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) is requesting the arrest of Nairobi Police Commander Adamson Bungei and acting Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja.
The authority is troubled by the lack of professionalism displayed by police in their interactions with protestors during the past four weeks, according to IPOA Commissioner John Waiganjo, who stated on Wednesday that the case is being escalated to the judiciary.
“We are very frustrated when we do not get information from the police commanders,” he said.
“That is why we are calling out the Nairobi police commander Adamson Bungei, the acting IG and we are saying that if we are not going to get this information we are going to petition the court to issue a warrant for their arrest because they carry the biggest responsibility.”
Waiganjo claims that the authorities have been keeping an eye on the weapons that police have been using to confront both peaceful and renegade protestors, including deadly tear gas and live ammunition.
He questioned why police officers have been masking their faces, obscuring their names, and hiding their badges, claiming that it is obvious that they are dishonest people anytime they are on the streets.
“It is clear that the police are breaking the law. We are suspecting that there is a specific unit that is being sent out there apart from the ordinary deployment to go and commit atrocities,” he said.
“We have monitored the tooling of the officers, we have seen the substances that they are using, we know that they are not well prepared, they are using live bullets and you saw instead of using water canons they are using some other substance which we have also sought to be provided with.”
Mr. Waiganjo also hinted that the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP) has received four files from the authorities that include solid proof that the individuals responsible for the killings are guilty.
But he made it clear that inquiries are still being conducted into the death of Rex Masai, the first protester to be shot and killed by police.
“We have so far forward four files to the ODPP, Rex’s is not there, because we do not want to do a shoddy job. The matter is still not escalated to court,” he noted.
Following Tuesday’s anti-government riots, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) announced that 50 Kenyans had died as a result of the protests, all of which were related to the police’s use of excessive force.
In addition, the commission noted 82 additional injuries, bringing the total to 574. Since the protests started, there have been 1,201 arrests total—77 more than before.
The Ministry of Interior and National Administration, meanwhile, has declared that it has suggested the office of the Coroner General be established in order to look into deaths, including those caused by police action.
