Police have been accused of extra judicial killings around Nairobi for the last few years. Yesterday there was this sad story of a Good Samaritan Daniel Mburu Wangari, who had rushed a mother with her child saved from drowning to Mama Lucy Hospital but he ended up in City Mortuary after being shot dead by a police officer.
His only crime was declining to give Sh50 bribe demanded by the police officer manning the public hospital. When he refused, they held on to his bike, called APs who ended up shooting him.
Such incidences involving trigger-happy policemen should worry the public more, it’s a pointer to something terribly wrong with an institution whose motto is service with dignity.
In the last half of 2019, there were numerous incidences where some police officers were arrested and charged in court for various crimes mostly related to robbery with violence and corruption.
The chilling confession of an informer of how Administration Police officers attached to the Syokimau AP Post kidnapped, detained, tortured and then murdered lawyer Willie Kimani.
Early this year, a police officer was arrested for allegedly shooting dead Ahmed Majid, a 24-year-old man at Majengo in Nairobi under unclear circumstances. The cop was popularly known to the locals as Chirchir.
Almost at the same time, police officers were alleged to have been behind the fatal shooting of a 19year boy in Mwiki during demonstrations by locals against poor roads.
The police who are meant to protect us are the ones terrorizing and killing us.
These trigger-happy police concerns should be a top priority for Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai, the National Police Service Commission and Independent Policing Oversight Authority to sort in this New Year.
