Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome has sensationally claimed that the opposition hired dead bodies to attract political sympathy from Kenyans as Azimio and the government clashed over anti-government protests.
Without providing concrete evidence to back up his claims, the top cop, while addressing journalists on Tuesday, August 8, alleged that senior opposition leaders, who he did not name, procured dead bodies from morgues across the country with the intention of showcasing them as the aftermath of police brutality.
"How can these people be leaders of the society? As police, we have the role of protecting lives and property. The propaganda will not dishearten us," Koome claimed.
At the same presser, IG Koome also called out Azimio over their plan to file a police brutality lawsuit at the International Criminal Court (ICC) claiming that the move is aimed at demoralising police officers.
Koome followed President William Ruto's lead, congratulating police officers for 'standing firm' during the demonstrations. The Inspector General went as far as to say would have awarded each one of them a medal for protecting the lives and property.
However, speaking moments after Koome's presser, Raila rubbished the comments and distanced the opposition from the said allegations.
The ODM boss reiterated that the lawyers who the opposition has enlisted are still documenting cases of brutality which will be used to build a watertight case against the police.
"I do not know which world he lives in. The bodies were buried had bullet wounds in them. The death certificates also confirm the cause of death. These are people killed by goons masquerading as police officers," Raila responded.
The opposition boss also called on Kenyans to furnish the opposition with more evidence on police brutality even as Azimio continues to reach out to the affected families.
Contrary to IG Koome's claims, Amnesty International on July 20, documented that over 11 people from Luo Nyanza had been killed in the protests. The human rights group tied that directly to the use of excessive force by the police.
"The deaths have been attributed to suffocation from tear gas and lethal shootings," read the statement in part.
Police are yet to provide official statistics on the number of people who died in the July protests.
