IPOA investigating police assault on motorist, Nakuru journalist in viral video
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) on Saturday launched a probe into a suspected incident of police assault involving a motorist and a journalist in Nakuru captured in a video that went viral.
In a statement, IPOA chairperson Anne Makori said if found culpable, the Authority will make appropriate recommendations against the police officers.
“If culpability is established or further misconduct established, the authority will make appropriate recommendations against the said police officers to the Directorate of Criminal investigations,” read the statement by IPOA.
In the video footage recorded on the scene, a traffic officer is seen exchanging words with a motorist identified as Frank Koigos, and thereafter two other police officers joined in and start beating up the motorist mercilessly.
A Nakuru based journalist, who filmed the whole incident, was also allegedly assaulted by an officer who tried to stop him from recording, and has already recorded a statement with police.
The journalist says he lost his mobile phones with the police returning one of the phones following the intervention of Nakuru County Police Commander Tito Kilonzi.
But the National Police Service (NPS) defended the three officers captured beating up the motorist who accused the cop of hitting and denting his car.
In a statement posted on Twitter, the NPS said it was the motorist who attacked the officer and not vice versa as captured in the viral video.
The service explained that the said motorist had been stopped for overlapping along the busy Nakuru-Nairobi highway before the confrontation ensued.
“The video circulating has not shown the full incident as it occurred. The motorist upon being stopped assaulted the police officer,” read the tweet by Inspector-General of Police Hillary Mutyambai.