Agency keeps sharp eye on security crackdowns
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) chairman Macharia Njeru at a past event. The police oversight authority wants NIS officers given powers to arrest as suggested in the Security Laws (amendment) Bill. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- Soldiers and police officers have been sent to hunt down armed gangs after a wave of attacks in which about 100 people have been killed in the Coast region.
- The watchdog chairman, Mr Macharia Njeru, said they had identified 29 officers who would be recommended for prosecution once the allegations against them were substantiated.
An oversight agency is monitoring the security drive by State agencies in Garissa County and the Coast.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) said its mandate was to ensure that the police and the military did not violate human rights when carrying out security swoops.
“Our officers are in Garissa, Tana River and Lamu counties to monitor the National Police Service and Kenya Defence Forces. The team will monitor them with emphasis on human rights violations or complaints. They will also inspect detention facilities,” said the authority’s head of communications, Ms Gladys Some-Mwangi.
Soldiers and police officers have been sent to hunt down armed gangs after a wave of attacks in which about 100 people have been killed in the Coast region.
LOCALLY ORGANISED
Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for some of the attacks but police say they are locally organised, with the help of the Somalia-based terror group.
Last week, the police oversight authority released a damning report showing that police officers were being investigated for harassment, extortion and assault during the security swoop in Nairobi’s Eastleigh.
The watchdog chairman, Mr Macharia Njeru, said they had identified 29 officers who would be recommended for prosecution once the allegations against them were substantiated.
He said the authority had established that officers in the Usalama Watch drive, demanded bribes of between Sh1,000 and Sh20,000 from suspects.
The authority says it also received complaints that detainees were beaten in police cells.
