Police in Runyenjes Sub-County, Embu County left a medic fighting for his life after an arrest turned into a violent confrontation, the Daily Nation reported on Tuesday, October 8.
Mustafa Hamisi, a psychologist, was left brutally injured when he was allegedly assaulted by a policeman at Runyenjes Market on Sunday, October 6.
Hamisi was confronted by a policeman who tried to arrest him over an unspecified reason which prompted his resistance. The officer and his colleagues reportedly descending on the medic with kicks and blows.
The medic was then arrested and locked up at a local police station but when police noticed he was in pain, they sent him to Runyenjes Sub-County hospital.
Runyenjes police boss Benjamin Muhia, however, denied any wrongdoing by his officer claiming the victim had forced the police to rough him up by resisting arrest.
"The policeman was arresting Hamisi when he turned violent and attacked him with a fight breaking out. In the scuffle, the policeman had his two teeth knocked out and he is also admitted at Kieni Hospital," Muhia claimed.
Muhia went ahead to defend his officers by rubbishing rumours that the medic had been tortured during his brief time at the police station.
"The fight took place outside the police station and the question of torture does not arise," he confirmed.
Joseph Ngwasi, the local Kenya National Union of Nurses Branch secretary, condemned the attack by saying that Hamisi had not resisted arrest.
"The medic is crying for justice and the policeman who brutally wounded him should be apprehended and prosecuted. We even suspect the officer was drunk during the incident," Ngwasi affirmed.
This, however, is not an isolated case as police brutality has been a menace in the country with innocent Kenyans falling victims to it.
The International Commission of Jurist on March 24, 2019, published a report on the cases of police brutality in the country.
The report pointed out that one of the biggest risks to most of Kenyan's lives was propagated by unlawful police killings and harassment.
