Police boss defends Bondeni OCS venting over Confirm gang

Frustrations among Nakuru residents over rising criminal activity has continued to grow roots with some of the security officers now advocating for instant mob justice on criminals to tame the gangs.

Bondeni Police Station Officer Commanding Station (OCS) Kimutai Kemboi has become an internet sensation after he publicly advocated for 'eye for an eye' on criminals terrorizing civilians.

The workstation of Kemboi is at the heart of Bondeni informal settlement located outside of Nakuru City, a major hideout for criminal gangs among them the Confirm.

During a stakeholders meeting held in the area on Tuesday, Mr Kemboi expressed his frustrations with the criminals saying that criminals caught up by members of the public should be dealt with before the arrival of police.

In a viral video, Kemboi is heard saying, "If a criminal is not peaceful, assault them as you wait for the police. If they have done something dangerous or stabbed someone and the incident is still fresh, kill that person. That is the proper interpretation of the law."

While quoting sections of the constitution on limited rights, Kemboi is also heard saying that the law allows for the elimination of a few bad people causing a disturbance in society.

"The Constitution states that certain rights can be limited and right to life is among them. We can't allow few individuals to continue disturbing the majority in the society...," he said adding, "If three per cent of individuals cause trouble, we are allowed to eliminate them to save 97 per cent. And even Article 51 of UN Charter allows us to mount hot pursuit and kill them."

The Article states that a right or fundamental freedom in the Bill of Rights shall not be limited except by law but only to the extent that the limitation is reasonable and justifiable in an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom, taking into account all relevant factors.

The OCS regretted that the fundamental rights were being used to protect criminals who inhumanely take the life of others in cold blood murders.

"If someone commits murder here, he should be followed in hot pursuit and be killed too. It is there. We can't bend the law to favour criminals and disadvantage weak people in the society. That one I will not allow as the OCS Bondeni," he said.

His remarks come amid rising cases of muggings and stabbing of victims in the last one month within Bondeni and Kivumbini leaving several people including a cleric dead.

Other victims have been left nursing serious stab wounds with others having their ears sliced off.

But Kemboi's remarks have attracted praise and scorn from the public in equal measure with his boss Nakuru County Police Commander Peter Mwanzo saying that the officer was justified.

"Him as a commander he is experiencing pressure and burn out after placing all security measures in place and then all of a sudden someone is stabbed or killed by these criminals. His venting is justified," said Mwanzo.

The county police boss further noted that the OCS and his officers were undergoing a lot of frustrations seeing that they have been the first responders to the incidents some of which are frightening.

"The OCS and his juniors are also human. Bondeni police station has become like a dispensary for people badly wounded by these criminals. The statistics in hospitals are shocking," said Mwanzo.

He added that it was regrettable that a section of the community was taking sides with the criminals impeding on police efforts to restore order in the area.

"I increased deployment of officers there yesterday. The officers arrested a suspect and the community stoned them yet when they fall victims they point fingers at the police," he said.

Mwanzo said the country's criminal justice system was to blame for the frustrations the officers were going through in having the criminals put behind bars.

"The officers arrest the suspects whom they are a hundred percent sure that they committed a crime. The prosecution then says there is no sufficient evidence to convict them," said Mwanzo.

He explained that after their release by the courts, the suspects return to the same localities and continue with their criminal tendencies while even bolder before civilians and the officers.

"The criminals are attempting to take over the area as their territory but we won't allow them. They are threatening victims and witnesses which makes it difficult to prosecute them," he said.