Demonstrations in opposition to police violence erupted after 31-year-old Albert Ojwang died in custody.
A whole lot of males on motorbikes, armed with whips and golf equipment, have attacked protesters in downtown Nairobi whereas they have been demonstrating in opposition to alleged extrajudicial killings, following the loss of life of a blogger in police custody.
One individual was killed on Tuesday because the assailants violently attacked and dispersed the demonstrators. A Reuters journalist noticed the person’s physique on the bottom with a bleeding head wound. However it was not clear how he had died or who the person was.
The swarm of males on motorbikes may very well be heard shouting “No protest” in footage shared by native broadcaster NTV.
Amnesty Worldwide’s Kenya chapter condemned the assault, writing on X that the “use of militia will escalate confrontation, lawlessness and chaos”.
The incident got here greater than every week after the loss of life of Albert Ojwang, a 31-year-old trainer and blogger. He died simply two days after being arrested within the city of Homa Bay in western Kenya for allegedly criticising Eliud Lagat, the nation’s deputy police chief.
A Kenyan police officer has been arrested in reference to Ojwang’s loss of life.
The protests attributable to his loss of life mirror a wider concern about police violence. Rights teams say greater than 60 individuals have been killed by safety forces final yr throughout demonstrations in June and July in opposition to a controversial monetary invoice that might have elevated taxes.
‘They cornered us and beat us with whips’
Talking concerning the clashes on Tuesday, which additionally noticed police fireplace tear fuel at protesters, Ndungi Githuku, of the civil rights group Kongamano La Mapinduzi, stated Kenya was turning into “a lawless nation”.
“We see tons of of paid goons, with whips and weapons, crude weapons, coming to brutalise our individuals,” he stated.
One of many demonstrators, Hanifa Adan, who was a number one voice in final yr’s Gen Z-led protests, instructed AFP that the lads on motorbikes had “overwhelmed” her and others.
“They cornered us and beat us with whips and the police have been simply watching them do it,” she stated.
Demonstrations have been additionally held on Tuesday in Kenya’s second-largest metropolis Mombasa, with the group holding placards saying “Cease killing us”.
Public anger grew after an post-mortem revealed that Ojwang had not fatally injured himself by banging his head in opposition to a cell wall, because the Kenyan police had initially claimed.
The federal government’s pathologist discovered that his accidents, which included blunt drive trauma, have been “unlikely to be self-inflicted”.
Kenyan President William Ruto admitted on Friday that Ojwang had died “by the hands of the police”, calling his loss of life “heartbreaking and unacceptable”.
The nation’s chief promised to “shield residents from rogue law enforcement officials”.
Up to now 4 months, greater than 20 individuals have died in police custody in Kenya, in accordance with the Impartial Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA).
As a part of the investigation into Ojwang’s loss of life, two senior law enforcement officials and a civilian have thus far been arrested.
Lagat, the deputy police chief, introduced on Monday that he was quickly stepping down from his function.
