Tuesday, September 17, 2024 - Over 50 police officers have been summoned by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) over misconduct during the 2023 Azimio protests and the Gen-Z protests of 2024 that left dozens dead and scores injured.
Notably,
15 of the officers summoned are
senior police commanders mostly drawn from the Western region where the Azimio
protests led to most deaths in 2023.
The officers are, therefore, required to
present themselves before the IPOA detectives between Tuesday and Thursday this
week.
Meanwhile, the National Police Service (NPS)
has urged all the summoned officers to meet with their respective legal
representatives.
“Legal officers from this headquarters will
meet with concerned officers at the Regional headquarters on September 16 for
briefing prior to appearing at the Authority offices on the respective dates,”
read part of a letter signed by Elizabeth Marube on behalf of the Deputy
Inspector General.
This follows the Law Society of Kenya and the
civil society’s concerns about police involvement in the abductions and deaths
of Kenyan protestors in the series of protests that plagued most parts of the
country in both 2023 and 2024.
The IPOA Act Section 7(1) grants the Authority
the power to request documents and summon both serving and retired police
officers.
Both series of protests led to the deaths of
dozens of Kenyan protestors at the hands of police officers which led to even
more uproar from Kenyans and human rights groups who accused the police of
using excessive force and not allowing Kenyans to exercise their right to
peacefully assemble.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
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