The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Faith Odhiambo has called out Director of Public Prosecution Renson Ingonga over his recent directives regarding the cases against police officers.
Speaking on Friday, the LSK President opined that the DPP was in a position to do more rather than issuing directives to various agencies to conduct more investigations into the cases.
According to LSK, the DPP could have directed the DCI to investigate the actions committed by some officers during the protests.
Odhiambo added that the DPP would have also considered having witnesses protected.
The LSK president noted that some witnesses and families were afraid to speak up against the police because of fear.
"I was quite disappointed by the statement by the DPP because he should be giving statements instead of throwing his hand in the air and saying that there is nothing that he can do.
"He is an independent constitutional office and he cannot come and tell the people that he is helpless. He should rack his brains and find solutions on how he is going to help these families by ensuring that their statements are taken," the LSK President stated.
Consequently, the society offered to accompany those witnesses who may have evidence of police brutality during the protests.
"We have reached out to IPOA and in instances where families are scared we can accompany them, We can also set a neutral location and will ensure that IPOA comes there.
"The DPP cannot throw his hands in the air. The reason why he does not have those statements is that they have not facilitated for environment where people can go and report," she stated.
In four files submitted by IPOA, the DPP directed more investigations and documentation.
For instance, in the case of the death of Rex Masai, the DPP asked for witnesses to come forward as the CCTV footage could not show the officer who fired the shot.
Notably, IPOA had also complained that the police bosses were not cooperative during the investigations.
"The police are clearly breaking the law because it is clear that their officers, even those in uniform, are not displaying their known tags and their service numbers," IPOA Commissioner John Waiganjo stated during an interview on Citizen TV on July 17.
On the other hand, Odhiambo called on the President to set up a kitty that will help families which were affected during the protests.
Earlier, President William Ruto had noted that the government would support families affected during the protests financially. He also called upon the police to release protesters who were arrested.
