IPOA Probes June 25 Protest Abductions Amid Riots in Mathare

Jukwaa

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

From a statement seen by Kenyans.co.ke on July 1, IPOA says it is looking into disturbing claims of police excesses, especially from Nairobi and Mombasa, where police mounted barricades and used teargas and acoustic devices to break up crowds gathering in the city centre.

According to the watchdog, officers were also seen engaging protesters directly in an apparent bid to calm tensions in the said regions, even as unrest continued spreading into parts of the capital in the days that followed.

IPOA noted that some police personnel wore balaclavas while others operated in plain clothes, carrying firearms and driving vehicles with concealed number plates, a move that defies existing court orders.

📌 What You Need to Know

Additionally, the oversight body found that the police erected barricades to restrict the protesters' movement, even in areas where minimal to no protests were reported.

On police violence, preliminary findings implicate the National Police Service (NPS) in using teargas in some instances and acoustic devices to disperse crowds in some parts of the Nairobi Central Business District (CBD).

“Preliminary findings indicate that police deployed public order management measures, including the erection of barricades along some major routes in parts of Nairobi and Mombasa, where minimal protests were recorded,” stated IPOA.

IPOA says it has obtained recorded statements from victims in Nairobi's CBD who allege they were abducted, detained, or physically harmed while participating in or near the protests.

Beyond taking statements, the Authority also says it has extended psychosocial support to several victims who came forward to record their accounts of what happened.

Fresh protests have since erupted in parts of Nairobi, particularly Mathare, Huruma, and Kariobangi North, with two cases of abductions reported and two police killings.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke

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