One killed in clashes as Kenyans protest demise of blogger in police custody
Demonstrations in opposition to police violence erupted after 31-year-old Albert Ojwang died in custody.
Tons of 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 demise of a blogger in police custody.
One particular person 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 per week after the demise of Albert Ojwang, a 31-year-old instructor 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 demise.
The protests brought on by his demise replicate a wider concern about police violence. Rights teams say greater than 60 folks have been killed by safety forces final 12 months throughout demonstrations in June and July in opposition to a controversial monetary invoice that may have elevated taxes.
‘They cornered us and beat us with whips’
Talking in regards to the clashes on Tuesday, which additionally noticed police hearth tear fuel at protesters, Ndungi Githuku, of the civil rights group Kongamano La Mapinduzi, mentioned Kenya was turning into “a lawless nation”.
“We see tons of of paid goons, with whips and weapons, crude weapons, coming to brutalise our folks,” he mentioned.
One of many demonstrators, Hanifa Adan, who was a number one voice in final 12 months’s Gen Z-led protests, instructed AFP that the boys 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 mentioned.
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 demise “heartbreaking and unacceptable”.
The nation’s chief promised to “shield residents from rogue cops”.
Previously 4 months, greater than 20 folks 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 demise, two senior cops 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.
