9 GSU Officers Arrested Over Death of 4 Civilians 

Members of Kenyas Anti-Terror Police Unit pictured during a drill.
A photo of a Kenyan police officer conducting a drill at a past training in 2020.
Photo
DCI

Nine GSU officers were arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of four civilians who were protesting along Mombasa Road in June 2022. 

The arrests were effected following recommendations by the Director of Public Prosecution, Noordin Haji.

Haji recommended the cops be charged with the murder of the four civilians who lost their lives while protesting the invasion of their farms by elephants.

In a statement dated Friday, November 4, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) indicated that the four were detained at the Kibra Police Station.

Undated file image of two men in police handcuffs
A file image of two men in police handcuffs after being apprehended in August 2019.
Kenyans.co.ke

The nine will be arraigned in the coming week.

"On the fateful day, the officers travelled back to their Mombasa base when they encountered the demonstrators.

"The investigation further revealed that the officers, who were travelling in two Landcruisers, fired a total of 40 rounds of ammunition, before making it through barricades and drove off to Mombasa," read the statement in part.

Evidence collected from the scene will be presented in court, with the prosecution arguing that it had enough exhibits to incriminate the quartet. 

"Post-mortem examinations showed that each of the fatalities was caused by a single bullet wound; a bullet head and bullet fragments were retrieved from the bodies during the autopsy," read the statement in part.

"17 spent cartridges were collocated at the scene," read the statement in part.

The death of the four prompted former President Uhuru Kenyatta to order investigations and subsequent arrest of suspects. 

Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i addressing the press accompanied by PS Karanja Kibicho and IG Hillary Mutyambai on Friday August 5, 2022
Former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i addresses the press accompanied by PS Karanja Kibicho and former IG Hillary Mutyambai on Friday, August 5, 2022.
Kenyans.co.ke
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