A disturbing video of police officers allegedly executing suspected criminals in the middle of the road in Nairobi's Pangani area has emerged.
In the video seen by Kenyans.co.ke, the police officers believed to be attached to Pangani Police Station are seen ordering their subjects to lie of the tarmac road before going ahead to shoot them at close range.
The execution, being conducted in the middle of a well-lit road, is said to have taken place on Thursday, March 18, after the officers reportedly arrested two men robbing a woman of her phone.
The amateur video was recorded from the balcony of a nearby building.
A white vehicle, a Toyota Probox in the model, is parked on the side of the road with its lights on, an indication that it was ready to ferry the bodies of the suspects after the execution.
Additional reports by The Nation detailed that a police report by the said officers to their seniors indicated that they (officers in question) had challenged the suspects to surrender but they declined, shooting at the officers.
Having no other option and acting in self defence, the officers neutralised the two suspects.
The Nation report further indicated that a gang of four robbers on two motorbikes blocked the lady before robbing her of her phone and gold earrings worth Ksh100,000.
“A crack team of officers drawn from Pangani Police Station and the DCI rushed to Pangani in search of the motorcycles,” read the report as quoted by The Nation.
In the video, one of the police officers fires two shots on the already immobile suspects. The video clip ends after the shots are fired.
By the time of going to press, attempts to reach National Police Spokesman, Bruno Shioso, were futile as our calls and texts went unanswered.
Cases of extra-judicial killings have been on the rise in the country, with civilians and human rights groups accusing police of applying excessive force on suspected criminals.
In 2017, a controversy ensued after a report emerged indicating that a group of six police officers - christened The Pangani Six - attached to Pangani Police Station was hunting down and executing suspects.
The leader of the controversial group earned the title "Killer Cop" as he was accused of taking the law into his own hands.
He had also been caught on camera allegedly executing a suspect in one of the country's informal settlements.
In 2020, reports indicated that the officer would be transferred after the public outcry even as the National Police Service and the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) stated that they had opened investigations.
To date, none of the officers who were under investigation was ever arrested or charged in a court of law.
On Monday, October 4, police officers in Nairobi County were banned from using civilian cars during undercover missions. Nairobi police bosses stated that the cars were used in cases of extortion and other illegal operations such as extra-judicial killings and kidnappings.
