Protests happen virtually a 12 months after a number of killed and seized by Kenyan police in finance invoice protests.
Protesters took to the streets of Kenya’s capital Nairobi to specific their fury over the demise of a blogger arrested by police final week, because the nation’s police watchdog reported that 20 folks had died in custody over the past 4 months.
Police used tear fuel to disperse crowds gathered near the capital’s parliamentary constructing on Thursday to protest in opposition to the demise of Albert Ojwang, a 31-year-old blogger arrested within the western city of Homa Bay final week for criticising the nation’s deputy police chief Eliud Lagat.
Police had initially stated Ojwang died “after hitting his head in opposition to a cell wall”, however pathologist Bernard Midia, a part of a staff that performed an post-mortem, stated the injuries – together with a head harm, neck compression and smooth tissue injury – pointed to assault as the reason for demise.
On Wednesday, President William Ruto admitted Ojwang had died “by the hands of the police”, reversing earlier official accounts of his demise, saying in an announcement that it was “heartbreaking and unacceptable”.
Kenyan media shops reported on Thursday {that a} police constable had been arrested over Ojwang’s demise.
Reporting from the protests in Nairobi, Al Jazeera’s Malcolm Webb stated that Ojwang, who wrote about political and social points, had posted on-line about Lagat’s alleged position in a “bribery scandal”, during which the deputy police chief had already been implicated by a newspaper investigation.
“It’s angered those who he was detained for that, after which days later, useless in a police station,” stated Webb, who added that folks have been calling for Lagat to be held to account, and “persisting in throwing stones on the police regardless of one volley of tear fuel after the following being fired at them”.
Finance invoice protests: one 12 months on
The case has shone a light-weight on the nation’s safety providers, who’ve been accused of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances for years.
On Thursday, Unbiased Policing Oversight Authority chairperson Issak Hassan advised lawmakers that there had been “20 deaths in police custody within the final 4 months”.
The authorities at the moment are conducting an official investigation into Ojwang’s demise.
On Wednesday, Inspector Normal Douglas Kanja apologised for police having beforehand implied that Ojwang died by suicide, telling a Senate listening to: “He didn’t hit his head in opposition to the wall.”
Ojwang’s demise comes virtually a 12 months after a number of activists and protesters have been killed and brought by police throughout finance bill protests – many are nonetheless lacking.
The rallies led to requires the removing of Ruto, who was criticised for the crackdown.
Amnesty Worldwide stated Ojwang’s demise in custody on Saturday “should be urgently, completely and independently investigated”.
