Officers who shot city hawker remanded for 15 days pending IPOA probe
Their arraignment came after they were interrogated yesterday by sleuths from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations
Two officers arrested over the shooting of a hawker in the Nairobi Central Business District (NCBD) during the Tuesday protest over the murder of Albert Omondi Ojwang have been arraigned in court.
The two, Masinde Barasa and Duncan Kiprono, appeared at the Milimani Law Court, where the Court allowed their detention at the Capitol Hill Police Station for 15 days to allow the Independent policing Oversight Authority (IPOA).
“The two will be remanded at the Capitol Hill Police station for fifteen days and appear for the mention on the 3rd of next month,” the Court directed
Barasa and Kiprono, both attached to Kileleshwa Police Station, were deployed to manage the demonstrations when they shot the hawker along Moi Avenue.
Their arraignment came after they were interrogated yesterday by sleuths from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
The injured 22-year-old hawker, identified as Boniface Kariuki, was saved by protesters and attended to by a team of first aiders in the CBD before being rushed to Kenyatta National Hospital, where he is currently admitted in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU)
In an update yesterday, KNH acting Chief Executive Officer William Sigilai said Kariuki suffered a brain injury.
He said the young man underwent surgery and a bullet was removed from his skull, though he remains in a critical condition at the Hospital.
“The CT scan of the head confirmed that a bullet had struck the left side of his head. The patient was then prepared for emergency surgery to mitigate his condition. The patient was wheeled into the theatre where a complex and delicate surgery was conducted by a multidisciplinary team under the leadership of our neurosurgeon. The procedure lasted 2 hours. During the procedure, an object believed to be a bullet was removed,” Sigilai gave an update.
The protesters have been demanding the resignation of DIG Eliud Lagat, who stepped aside to allow investigations by IPOA.
The embattled DIG is expected to appear before IPOA today after he was summoned yesterday by the authority.
