Kayole residents demonstrate against Police killings
Residents of Kayole, Nairobi, on Thursday, August 19, 2021, staged protests while accusing police of killing a man who flouted Covid-19 containment measures.
The deceased, identified as John Kiiru, 38, is said to have passed away on Wednesday night after he was beaten for violating the dawn to dusk curfew.
This led to the irate residents engaging police in running battles and sealing off major roads leading in and out of the estate.
Residents who spoke to Nairobi News said the victim whose body was still lying at the Tushauriane Stage by midday on Thursday, was heading home when police attacked him.
The rider of the motorbike that he was aboard, however, managed to escape.
Before he died, he managed to call his wife Esther Wanjiru, informing her that he had been roughed up by police officers, only for his body to be found at the attack scene in the morning.
Youth in Kayole engage the police in running battles as they protest the killing of a resident who was last night shot and killed by police officers for allegedly faulting curfew regulations @Ma3Route pic.twitter.com/zoUY7qsTnF
— LILIAN BARASA (@LilianHSC) August 19, 2021
Attempts by police officers to take Kiiru’s body from the scene were met with opposition.
Police officers were repelled by the residents, who threw stones and lit fires along the roads, preventing the authorities from collecting the deceased’s body.
Kayole
Curfew must end now#EndCurfewNow pic.twitter.com/5MunuN8EIE— #EndCurfewNow (@Onorpik) August 19, 2021
#EndCurfewNow currently komarock sector one /kayole. Teargas all over!!! There is no peace. pic.twitter.com/6Kh7m0T6BE
— Quincy (@quinccyyyyy) August 19, 2021
There have been increased cases of police killings during the enforcement of Covid-19 rules.
On Tuesday, 6 police officers under investigation for the murder of two Embu brothers were arraigned.
They however were not required to plead to any charges.
They are accused of killing Emmanuel Mutura and Benson Njiru whose bodies were found in the mortuary on August 3, following their arrest on August 1.
On Wednesday, two police officers accused of inflicting serious injuries to a man in Mathare, leading to his death were arrested.
The two, an Inspector and a Corporal, are scheduled to face murder charges.
According to the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), the actions of the two led to the death of Vitalis Owino Ochillo alias Madaraka. The incident happened at Mradi area of Mathare North in Nairobi on May 3.
“The death falls within IPOA mandate to hold police accountable for their actions,” IPOA chairperson Anne Makori said in a statement to Newsrooms.
Ochillo succumbed to injuries sustained after he was arrested by police officers who were enforcing curfew orders. It was about 7pm.