Police have launched
investigations after images of alleged officer brutality in Garissa county
surfaced online.
The photos, showing
young men lying on their bellies and being whipped, were allegedly taken and
posted by a senior police officer from Garissa.
Last week, police
officers on a security mission were attacked in the area and at least one
officer was killed and others injured.
Garissa county
commissioner James Kianda denied any knowledge of the police brutality.
“The officers who
posted the photos and others involved will face disciplinary action, of course
subject to validation,” he said.
"This is not how
we want to fight terrorism." Inspector General Joseph Boinett confirmed
that investigations are underway. "We will act," he replied to a
short message sent to him.
The victims are said to
have been rounded up in Yumbis and neighbouring villages in Fafi subcounty.
In the background,
officers are seen laughing as an armed plain clothes officer beats up the youth
and another one steps on them.
A police car and white
Toyota Lancruiser are also seen at the scene.
It is not yet clear
what prompted the actions by the police and where the victims were later taken.
The photos are likely
dent the already battered public image of the police in the wake of the war on
terror.
Macharia Njeru, the
chair of the Independent Police Oversight Authority, said investigations will be
carried out upon verification of the photos.
“We are very clear on
issues of police misconduct. If at all misdeeds are proved, law will take its
course,” Njeru said.
The images were posted
by a senior officer Michael Orita, whose rank is not immediately known.
“These Somali young men
came to Garissa for a purpose but little did they know we r smarter than them
(sic)” he posted Orita on his Facebook page on Saturday.
Kenyans on social media
criticised the alleged police brutality against locals.
The images appeared
days after similar ones appeared of a man who was severely beaten by security
agents in Wajir.
There are reports of
extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearance allegedly perpetuated by the
police.
Wajir West MP Abdikadir
Ore said such actions by the security agents are the reason the war on terror
“cannot be won”.
“This perhaps explains
why the community has not been co-operating with security officers,” he said.
His counterpart from
Wajir North Ibrahim Saney asked the government to earn trust among residents to
win the war against al Shabaab