Extra-judicial killings hit Nakuru

Police officers tied suspects to a tree inside Kedowa forest and shot them in one of the worst cases of extrajudicial killings reported this year in Nakuru.

A senior investigator, who requested anonymity, told The Standard that the officers used ropes to tie the victims before shooting them at point-blank range. The incident occurred on October 18, 2018.

“I can only relate the brutal shooting of the suspects to a horror movie. They were tied and executed in a firing squad manner,” said the top detective.

He said the incident was reported by the area chief, who said there were two individuals, one from Muchorwe and another from Huruma estates in Molo, who had been spotted in the forest, both with gunshot injuries.

The investigator said when locals arrived at the scene, one of the victims was still alive and he informed the people about the shooting.

“He revealed that police officers dragged them to the forest, tied them up and fired,” the source said.

Some plainclothes officers sent by their colleagues to pick the two bodies heard the man incriminating the officers, according to the source. This information came from the victim who was found alive by the locals.

“The police were shocked and upset to discover that one of the men was alive and that he was revealing information about the killing. They picked the body and the survivor and drove away. The man later died but it is not clear how,” said the officer.

According to a statement written by a local at Kedowa Police Post on October 19, 2018, that The Standard has a copy of, two male adults were found tied to a tree in the forest. One was alive while the other was dead with bullet wounds.

The informer has also been referred to Londiani and Salgaa police stations to make the same report because the case is not within our area of jurisdiction and the case is referred to crime branch,” reads a section of statement.

Nakuru police boss Hassan Barua said he was not aware of the case.

The source, however, maintained that police record stated that the two were among the most wanted criminals but said they were not aware about.

Kedowa is in Kericho but as per report made by the police, the two were most wanted criminals shot in an attempted robbery in Mau Summit.

“Police officers from Molo are the ones implicated because they stated the two were wanted criminals. Police cannot kill wanted criminals without our information, neither without us having report on them and their photographs,” he said.

The case

Independent Policing Oversight Authority (Ipoa) through its Communication Director Dennis Oketch said the case was under investigations.

“The case is still under preliminary investigations by Ipoa,” said Mr Oketch.

Elizabeth Wambui, 30, is also a victim of alleged police brutal killings. Her eyes well up. She stares at her children aged one, six and nine and breaks into tears.

The mother vividly recalls the death of her husband, Peter Kariuki, 32, after being arrested by officers stationed at Teachers Police Post on September 16, 2018.

Wambui tells The Standard during a visit at her house in Nyamakoroto estate, outskirts of Nakuru town that Kariuki was arrested by officers and locked at the cells but she was not informed.

She went to the station on September 17, and 18, but was directed to check on him at the Central Police Station only to be informed by a local administrator that Kariuki had died.

The mother was shocked to be informed that her husband had hanged himself in the cells using his shirt.

“I kept looking for my husband but was taken round in circles by the police, who later claimed he had committed suicide,” says the mother.

Contrary to information shared to Wambui, the officers allegedly told Kariuki’s father Michael Mucheru he committed suicide by hanging on an electric wire. He had been arrested for being drunk.

“Police might have conspired to kill my husband at the cells. I am not satisfied with explanation of him hanging himself. All I want is justice,” says Wambui.

An autopsy report revealed cause of death as neck compression due to hanging.

“As a result of my examination, I formed the opinion that the cause of death was neck compression due to hanging,” read the report by Government pathologist Dr Wangare Wambugu.

In another incident, Toyabi Nero, a security guard working with a private company was arrested by police officers last April and handed over to Showground police post where he allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself with an electric wire.

The body was taken to Nakuru county morgue.

The body according to Toyabi’s mother Phoebe Nero, had injuries on the face, blackspots on the ribs and both arms and the right shoulder was dislocated and swollen.

There were also signs of struggle before death.

“I am yet to understand how my son was arrested and within a span of two hours, he had committed suicide. We need more explanation from the police,” says the mother.

She adds; “After the incident, I was taken round in circles while demanding to see my son. I felt there were a lot of malice by officers, why did they send me to Central, when the crime was committed at Showground as alleged?”

The mother says at least five months after the crime, she is yet to receive any report from investigators.

Police officers were also accused of killing Denis Motiga, 28, from Machage Estate in Nakuru in April this year.

Motiga’s mother, Catherine Wangechi, said the officers locked her son at Bondeni Police Station despite knowingly he was in a critical condition.

After his arrest, Mogita was taken to Rift Valley Provincial General Hospital where medics at emergency advised for his admission, a plea the police did not heed to.

At the station, the suspect’s condition worsened, and fearing he might die, they rushed him back to the hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

“The police should explain to me why they locked my son in cells instead of taking him for medical attention yet he was in a critical condition,” said Wangechi.

However, Nakuru deputy OCPD Daniel Kitavi, said Mogita had been rescued from irate mob who attacked him after he was allegedly involved in a robbery incident together with his friend, an officer attached to the Administration Police.

Concerning his medical attention, he said the Motiga was rushed to the hospital and received by intern health workers who treated and discharged him in fair condition.

Having been a robbery suspect, Kitavi said, Mogita was taken to Bondeni for more investigations, but his health condition deteriorated and died while undergoing treatment.

“The suspect was taken to hospital, and treated and discharged by medics, and it took intervention of the officer in charge of the station to take him back but he died,” said Kitavi.

Contrary to police defence, the hospital medical superintendent Dr Joseph Mburu said the patient was received at 2am by a qualified clinical officer at the outpatient emergency area.

Clinical officer at emergency advised admission after examining his condition, the police maintained they did not have an officer to guard him and forcefully took him back to station.

However, while at the station, Dr Mburu said the officers might have discovered Mogita had passed on and hurriedly rushed him back to the hospital.

“The police brought in a body of the patient who had earlier been attended to. It is unfortunate they forcefully picked him when he was to undergo further treatment,” said Dr Mburu.

A former senior police officer in Nakuru has also been implicated in cases of extrajudicial killings of officials of Nakuru Workers Cooperative Society in Pipeline area.

In June 2017, David Gitau, 46, the society’s secretary and Beth Wachie (a local), were shot multiple times by unknown criminals at Pipeline.

The killing of the two brings to eight the total number of officials and members whose deaths have been linked to the 64-acre land that was bought in the early 1990s by the group that comprises 444 members at a cost of Sh2.4 million from a local businessman.

A detective at Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) told The Standard in confidence that the killings of the officials was allegedly organised by a top officer.

The senior officer, according to the source, is implicated in land dispute, and wanted to forcefully acquire more parcels of land owned by the society.

The investigator allegedly hired a junior officer at Sh30,000 to eliminate Gitau, but during the mission, he was forced to kill Wachie after she raised alarm.

“A junior officer who eliminated the two was arrested and more investigations are underway,” said the investigator, adding that the matter was sensitive.

Margaret Akoth’s 36-year-old son was shot dead by a police officer attached to Nakuru Central Police Station in August.

Akoth said her son, David Sewe, was arrested by police for claims he was peddling bhang at Pondamali estate in Nakuru.

The three officers allegedly arrested Sewe with 11 rolls of bhang valued at Sh220.

Sewe was picked at around 8pm by three officers, booked at him at Kasarani Police Post and later transferred him to Central Police station.

An officer allegedly picked him from the cells at Central Police station, escorted him outside the station and shot him dead.

Sewe’s sister, Rose Awuor, said her brother before meeting his death, had called asking her to carry Sh50,000 to secure his freedom as the officers had threatened to kill him.

“David Sewe, 36, died as a result of a head injury caused by a single gunshot,” a postmortem by Dr Titus Ngulungu read.

He noted that Sewe had two gunshot wounds from a bullet that entered through the left ear and exited through the right side of the neck.

A policeman, Joshua Kosgei, has since been charged in connection with the killing.

Rift Valley

According to Ipoa, at least 33 cases of complaints against the police have been launched in the Rift Valley and are at advanced stage.

The agency’s communication boss said at least six cases of individuals who have died are also under investigations.