Kenya to investigate police “brutality’ at protest
NAIROBI _ Kenya’s police chief ordered an internal investigation on Tuesday a day after officers were seen viciously beating an unresponsive fallen protester as they broke up demonstrations.
Some of the demonstrators, who were demanding the dissolution of the commission, threw stones at police.
“I condemn the lawlessness visited on the public by rioters yesterday and an internal inquiry is underway to determine whether any police officer broke any law while quelling the riots,” Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet told reporters.
A video of the incident shows a man in a green sweatshirt running from police before falling to the ground. Three officers then take turns striking him with batons and kicking his motionless body as it lies slumped on the curb.
Hundreds of protesters were prevented from reaching the offices of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) by police wearing body armour and carrying shields. There have been several such protests in recent weeks.
“The officers who have violated the rights of citizens by their brutality must face both disciplinary process and criminal prosecution,” said Isaac Okero, president of the Law Society of Kenya, condemning the “bludgeoning of an apparently unconscious and unresponsive, unarmed man”.
