Matiang’i vows to tame rising cases of police brutality

Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i speaking at the Kenya School of Government in Nairobi after a meeting with Ipoa, civil society groups and the National Police Service Commission. PHOTO | DENNIS ONSONGO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The latest case of police brutality happened this week when a homeless man, James Waitheru, alias Vaite, succumbed to gunshot wounds in the Mathare slums as police enforced the dusk-to-dawn curfew.
  • After the incident, Ipoa issued a statement confirming that six officers will be charged with assault and murder for crimes committed in Siaya, Garissa and Nairobi counties.

Interior ministry officials and members of civil rights groups yesterday held a consultative meeting to address rising cases of police brutality.

The closed-door meeting, which lasted more than two hours, included Attorney-General Kihara Kariuki and senior officials from the Interior ministry led by Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i.

Others at the meeting were Director Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji, Independent Policing Oversight Authority (Ipoa) chair Anne Makori and 20 human-rights groups.

At the meeting, the government committed to take stern action against officers found guilty of using excessive force against civilians.

The latest case of police brutality happened this week when a homeless man, James Waitheru, alias Vaite, succumbed to gunshot wounds in the Mathare slums as police enforced the dusk-to-dawn curfew.

After the incident, Ipoa issued a statement confirming that six officers will be charged with assault and murder for crimes committed in Siaya, Garissa and Nairobi counties.

The officers include Mr Lotugh Angorita, who will be charged with the murder of Colletta Amondi Ouda, a high school teacher shot at the Usigu market in Siaya County. A public inquest into the matter had been going on but the DPP directed that it be withdrawn in favour of the murder trial.

Another officer, Mr Duncan Ndiema Ndiwa, will be charged with the murder of 13-year-old Yassin Moyo, who was shot while playing on the balcony of his parents’ home in Kiamaiko, Nairobi, on March 30.

Four others — Mr Festus Kiptoo Saina, Mr Boniface Wambura Chacha, Mr Joseph Mwaniki and Mr Nahashon Adera — will be charged with assaulting and causing grievous harm to Mr Abdilbrahim Noor, who suffered fractures during his arrest near Gateway Hotel in Garissa town.

DPP Haji confirmed that his office has received 176 files from Ipoa accusing police officers of using excessive force on civilians. Some 85 of the cases are in court, with 23 involving murder. The rest are being reviewed for appropriate action. Concerns have been raised over a spike in cases of police brutality in the past few months, after the government declared a curfew to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Civil rights groups present at the meeting want Ipoa and human-rights organisations listed as critical and essential service providers during the pandemic period to accompany police on patrols.