Police officers in Wajir County were accused of using excessive force after one of them was captured on camera hitting a protestor with a gun on May 4.
Additionally, a 12-year-old boy was left for dead after being reportedly hit with a stray bullet in the demonstrations, bringing businesses to a standstill.
“The security apparatus must change attitude… They cannot respond with bullets when there is an issue,” noted Wajir North Member of Parliament, Ibrahim Abdi Saney.
Demonstrators took to the streets to lament the death of two men who allegedly died in an altercation with Kenya Wildlife Service officers on May 3. Reports alleged that the duo was accused of poaching.
However, locals disputed the reports, claiming that the victims were innocent.
Locals chastised the police for the deaths saying the men should have been detained at a police station and arraigned in court.
Smoke from burning tyres rent the air as locals blockaded roads and engaged the police in running battles.
Local leaders also criticized the police who killed innocent people were criminals and not police officers.
The incident rekindled memories of police shootings in Nairobi, Siaya, and Kisumu counties when police officers were accused of using live ammunition during the Azimio La Umoja protests in April 2023.
On April 4, the Inspector General (IG) of the National Police Service (NPS), Japhet Koome, clarified that he doesn’t derive pleasure from hurting protesters after he was accused of ordering his officers to use extra force.
“I do not derive any happiness from injuring anybody. I am human, but remember, I have to move in when I see a situation where two Kenyans are likely to hurt one another because of unnecessary rivalry,” he noted.
Kenyans.co.ke contacted the police spokeswoman Resila Onyango for comment, but she was unavailable.
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