Kindiki and IG Koome sued for Police Brutality
Kindiki and IG Koome sued for Police Brutality
A lobby organization, Operation Linda Jamii, has filed a case in the Kisumu High Courts against Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki and Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome for the brutality meted out to protestors during the Azimio Coalition’s anti-government marches.In its petition, the lobbying group demands that the two be held accountable for the brutality and produce paperwork documenting all investigations and inquiries into the abuse.
The Prof. Ogola-led lobby also wants the government to provide all statistics on those who died during the protests.”We want the court to rule in a way that sends a message to the perpetrators of these police brutalities that they will never again silence the voice, freedoms, and rights,” the group said in a statement.
Aside from that, the organization wants the court to require the government to pay all protestors who were hurt during the demonstrations as well as the families who lost loved ones in the pandemonium.”As politicians sort themselves out in Bomas, those who paid the ultimate price should also receive restorative justice,” the organization said.
“In fact, what pains us the most is that to date, it is not clear whether the said officers and their immediate supervisors reported the said usage of the firearms to the interested party as mandatorily required by law,” read the statement.
The group also questioned the government’s failure to provide emergency assistance throughout the protests.Amnesty International provided information on the number of deaths documented during anti-government rallies since March in July. Amnesty International documented at least 30 incidences of police deaths of protestors. They include the March 20th and 27th protests (12 deaths), the Saba Saba protest (12 deaths), and the July 19th protest (6 deaths). Suffocation from tear gas and deadly gunfire were blamed for the killings. According to Amnesty, early investigations found that the police employed indiscriminate and excessive use of tear gas and water cannons, as well as other severe rights breaches, to police the protesters.
