NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 18- Two police officers accused of inflicting serious injuries to a man in Mathare, leading to his death were on Wednesday arrested.
The two, an Inspector and a Corporal, are scheduled to face murder charges.
According to the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), the actions of the two led to the death of Vitalis Owino Ochillo alias Madaraka. The incident happened at Mradi area of Mathare North in Nairobi on May 3.
“The death falls within IPOA mandate to hold police accountable for their actions,” IPOA chairperson Anne Makori said in a statement to Newsrooms.
Ochillo succumbed to injuries sustained after he was arrested by police officers who were enforcing curfew orders. It was about 7pm.
“IPOA forwarded the investigation file to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution with recommendations to charge the officers for the offence of murder,” Makori said.
IPOA identified the two officers as Inspector Daniel Musau and Corporal Robert Mwangi Kibororo.
There has been increased cases of police killings during enforcement of COVID-19 rules.
On Tuesday, 6 police officers under investigation for the murder of two Embu brothers were arraigned. They however were not required to plead to any charges.
The prosecution, through Jacinta Nyamosi, said they required at least 14 days to complete investigations before they can face murder charges.
The request was granted by Senior Principal Magistrate Daniel Dungi when the suspects were arraigned at the Milimani Law Courts.
The suspects are Corporal Consolata Njeri, Corporal Benson Mbuthia, Constable Lilian Cherono, Constable Martin Wanyama, Constable Nicholas Sang and Constable James Mwaniki.
They will all be held at the Capitol Hill Police Station until August 31.
They are accused of killing Emmanuel Mutura and Benson Njiru whose bodies were found in the mortuary on August 3, following their arrest on August 1.
Initial police reports indicated that the two brothers jumped out of a moving police vehicle.
Human Rights defenders and Embu residents refuted the narrative and demanded for justice.
“The outcome of this investigation has established a prima facie case against six police officers for the offence of murder,”Makori said.
Some of the witnesses who spoke to investigators said the boys were not booked at the Manyatta police station on the night they were arrested.
Instead, the witnesses said they were driven away.Two days later, their bodies were found dumped in a mortuary.
A person was killed during the protests that ensued, as locals called for justice.
The Independent Medico Legal Unit has documented at least 25 cases of extra-judicial killings and 43 cases of torture and ill-treatment since March 20, 2020, when stringent COVID-19 disease preventive measures were adopted and June this year.
The cases have increased in the recent weeks.
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