This archive report was first published on 6 June 2020.
Matiang'i Vows to Tackle Police Brutality Amid Rising Cases ¶
On June 6, 2020, a consultative meeting was held between Interior ministry officials and members of civil rights groups to address the growing concern of police brutality. The meeting, which lasted over two hours, included Attorney-General Kihara Kariuki and senior officials from the Interior ministry led by Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i.
Other key attendees included Director Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji, Independent Policing Oversight Authority (Ipoa) chair Anne Makori, and representatives from 20 human-rights groups. The government committed to taking stern action against officers found guilty of using excessive force against civilians.
One of the latest cases of police brutality occurred when a homeless man, James Waitheru, alias Vaite, succumbed to gunshot wounds in the Mathare slums while police enforced the dusk-to-dawn curfew. In response, Ipoa issued a statement confirming that six officers would 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 A public inquest into the matter had been ongoing, but the DPP directed that it be withdrawn in favor of the murder trial.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.
According to DPP Haji, his office has received 176 files from Ipoa accusing police officers of using excessive force on civilians. Of these, 85 cases are in court, with 23 involving murder. The rest are being reviewed for appropriate action.
