Kindiki: Plotters Provided Fatal Firearms to Protesters
The government has taken steps to clear the police of allegations of extrajudicial murders during efforts to quell the violence that rocked nationwide demonstrations last week.
Interior CS Kithure Kindiki stated in a statement released on Tuesday that allegations of disproportionate use of force by anti-riot police are “malicious and false.”
Kindiki stated, “Allegations that National Police Service (NPS) officers and other law enforcement personnel are engaged in extrajudicial executions and/or excessive use of force against the public or any segment thereof are malicious, false, and intended to distort public opinion regarding the recent outbreak of violence in some parts of the country.”
Raila Odinga, the leader of the opposition party Azimio, asserted on Tuesday that police resorted to “unprecedented police violence” against the demonstrators.
“Police and gangs have shot and killed or injured dozens of unarmed civilians at point-blank range,” he said, adding, “All the victims were unarmed.”
Raila spoke at a press conference in Nairobi for foreign media.
Since March, when the opposition coalition announced the resumption of weekly mass demonstrations against the government, he stated that at least fifty people have been killed.
The government acknowledged the loss of life during the three days of nationwide protests but did not provide a precise number.
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However, Interior PS Raymond Omollo stated in a separate statement that one law enforcement officer was killed and 305 were gravely injured.
Kindiki stated that those promoting the extrajudicial narrative bear the greatest culpability for the violence that swept the nation during the marathon demonstrations.
“The architects of this false and distorted narrative bear the greatest responsibility for planning, financing, and carrying out the heinous crimes that resulted in the death and injury of civilians and law enforcement officers, as well as the massive destruction of private and public property over the past weeks,” he said.
“Furthermore, it has been established that licensed and unlicensed civilian firearms supplied by the masterminds of the recent violence were used to kill or injure civilians and security personnel, and the blame has been shifted to security officers.”
Kindiki stated that investigative and intelligence agencies are analyzing the substantial evidence in their possession to determine which evidence is sufficient to prosecute the criminals.
Kindiki: Plotters Provided Fatal Firearms to Protesters