Interior CS Kithure defends police over incompetence claims

Interior Cabinet Secretary Prof. Kithure Kindiki. [File, Standard]

Parliament has been told the events that led to the rescuing of a suspected wounded bandit at the Iten Hospital who was under police custody.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki who appeared before the National Assembly on Wednesday, April 12, said that the people who rescued the bandit accessed the hospital through the fence and that few police officers were present during the ordeal.

"The reason why that happened notwithstanding the presence of few police officers who were on-site at that time was the determination by the commanding officer on site that a shootout inside that facility would have caused fatalities of the patients and that gave a leeway for the rescue to succeed," Kindiki explained.

At the same time, Kindiki who was the first CS to appear before MPs under the Kenya Kwanza regime, stated that the rescuers are suspected bandits.

"The suspect who is still at large, had bullet wounds and could not explain the cause of the injury. We have reason to believe that those who came to rescue him were criminals and had come to the aid of one of their own who was hurt,' Kindiki said.

The suspect - identified as Dennis Kembi, was rescued by his accomplices by a group of 10 young men, 6 of whom armed with AK-47 rifles and smashed windows and managed to rescue the patient from the police officers.

Kindiki was answering a question raised by Marakwet East MP Kagongo Bowen who questioned police preparedness to eliminate the banditry manance.

The CS appeared before the house after both the National Assembly and the Senate changed their Standing Orders to allow Cabinet Secretaries to appear before the plenary to answer questions in a move the Kenya Kwanza government said will increase accountability in government.