The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) has flagged as fake a statement attributed to party leader, Raila Odinga, condemning the killing of a hawker by a police officer in the Nairobi CBD on Tuesday.
In a post on its official channel, ODM termed the statement as "another fake one".
The fake statement, complete with the former Prime Minister's logo, decried the shooting, asserting that the video of the shooting was horrifying to watch.
It further called out the police service for completely going rogue and urged President William Ruto to immediately address the issue before it got out of hand.
"Kenyans have the constitutional right to protest peacefully, and I call upon the President to urgently address this escalating situation," part of the statement read.
"This continued use of violence by law enforcement against unarmed citizens is unacceptable and must be met with immediate accountability," it concluded.
Since the police officer was caught on camera shooting the hawker at close range, Kenyans have erupted with calls for justice, and the two police officers involved in the ordeal have already been taken into custody, awaiting arraignment.
Even though ODM flagged Odinga's statement, the party's National Chairperson, Gladys Wanga, has since released a statement decrying the recent wave of police high-handedness.
In her statement, she cited several victims of this brutality in the Nyanza region, including Albert Ojwang, who died at Nairobi Central Police Station, and Calvins Omondi Onditi, a 36-year-old fisherman who allegedly took his own life while in police custody at Kipasi Police Post in Mbita.
She further highlighted Tuesday’s shooting by police officers during the protests, as well as another incident on Wednesday, where a 34-year-old man was taken to the County Referral Hospital with life-threatening injuries sustained from a police beating on Ringiti Island.
"Enough is enough. The perpetrators of these extrajudicial killings must face the full force of the law. The Kenya Police Service must carry its own cross. We condemn these atrocities and demand Accountability. The immediate prosecution of all officers involved, including those bearing command responsibility," she stated in the now-deleted post.
Furthermore, she called upon the government to uphold the ODM-UDA agreement, which explicitly prohibits extrajudicial killings, stating, "We are holding the broad-based government to this commitment. Our support for the Broad-based Government does not extend to extrajudicial killing and police brutality. We draw the line on extrajudicial executions. Illegal and unconstitutional repression is not part of the agreement."
