Former IG Koome, AG and Bungei sued over death of protestor Kogi

Another family has sued the government over the killings that happened during the Gen-Z protests against the Finance Act 2024.

Beasley Kogi was killed on June 25, 2024, in the Nairobi central business district. A post-mortem indicated that he was hit on the head and the chest by a blunt object.

In the case, where the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) is also a litigant, Kogi’s sister, Beatrice Muthoni, told the court that the police had a hand in his death.

“Since the arbitrary killing of Beasley Kogi Kamau by the Kenyan police, nobody has been investigated at all and no one has been held accountable and prosecuted for this violation,” her lawyer, Dudley Ochiel, said.

Kogi was 22 years old when he was killed. A police report attached to the case read that the deceased was fatally injured within the CBD during demonstrations against the Finance Bill.

It indicated that he had head and chest injuries.

Muthoni has sued Nairobi County Commander Adamson Bungei, former Inspector General of Police Japheth Koome, the office of the Inspector General of Police, the Attorney General, and the National Police Service Commission (NPSC).

She alleged that failure to prosecute or investigate the officer who killed her brother was a cover-up by the government.

“We are afraid that the failure to investigate, arrest, or prosecute the police officer who unlawfully killed Beasley Kogi amounts to a criminal cover-up and threatens further violation of the Constitution,” she stated.

The court heard that the police violated Kogi’s right to life as he was unarmed. According to Ochiel, the former IG, and NPSC ought to have gone after rogue police officers who were either maiming or killing protestors.

He said the deceased was treated cruelly for calling out the government over bad governance.

“ The excessive, arbitrary, unreasonable, lethal use of force and unlawful killing of Beasley Kogi by Kenyan Police officers violated Article 26 of the Constitution, Article Six of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and Article Four of Banjur Charter protecting the right to life,” argued Ochiel.

This is the second case seeking for police to account over the killing during protests.

The first case involved Rex Masai.

Masai was silenced by a bullet while expressing his displeasure about Finance Bill 2024 on June 18 this year.

Director of Public Prosecution Renson Ingonga has, however, said that no one had shown up as a witness to give an account that would enable identification and arrest of the police officer who killed him.

Ingonga said the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage could not identify the person behind the trigger.

LSK, in its case filed before High Court Judge Bahati Mwamuye, alleged that Isaiah Ndumba Murangiri was the police officer behind Rex’s killing.

The society sued the government to stop the deployment of police officers in civilian clothing during protests.

It argued that all instances of murders and police brutality are linked to officers who have no identification cards or uniforms.

The Faith Odhiambo-led society stated that its push for police to be in uniform is for easy identification and accountability.

The court heard that it has become almost impossible to identify or single out police officers from goons as they are masking themselves to the extent of wrapping their faces with scarves.

LSK also sued Central Police Station Officer Commanding Station (OCS) Moses Shikuku, and two police officers, Martin Mbae Kithinji and Ndumba.