- Nominated ODM senator Beth Syengo criticised police for excessive force on protesters during a Senate debate on July 4
- Syengo recounted pleading with a police officer to spare an innocent young protester outside parliament, who was subsequently shot despite showing his ID
- She condemned the officer’s dismissive attitude, claiming the protester was wrongly labelled a “crook from Kibera”
- Syengo questioned why police, meant to protect citizens, had become aggressors, calling for accountability in their actions against protesters
Didacus Malowa, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings over three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.
Nairobi – Nominated Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party senator Beth Syengo has called out the police for using excessive force on protesters.
Source: Twitter
During the debate on the state of the nation on Thursday, July 4, the lawmaker recounted pleading with a police officer to spare a young protestor.
The lawmaker said she intimated to the police officer within the precincts of parliament that the protester was innocent.
Syengo revealed that the officer pushed her aside and claimed the protesters were goons from Kibera.
She said that despite showing his identification card, the officer gunned him down outside the August House.
“I remember I knelt down before one killer policeman. I confronted him and asked him why is he killing an innocent unarmed young man. That policeman looked at me and told me, ‘Senator, get behind me; these are crooks and criminals from Kibera
The student who was being pursued removed his identification card, a student from a university, but the policeman could not hear anything of that. He shot the man dead. It was so painful,” she said.
Syengo calls out the police
The lawmaker slammed the police for their high-handed tactics when dealing with anti-government protesters.
She questioned why the police had turned into what she described as aggressors rather than protecting Kenyans.
“Why should we have police who should keep law and order in the country, protect citizens and the country, killing our young men and women?” Syengo posed.
Police pursue youths recorded stealing during protests
In other news, the police announced their intent to go after rowdy youths who were recorded stealing from businesses during demos.
They released footage of the suspects breaking into cars and business premises, causing losses to their owners.
One clip showed the violent youths ambushing a man by the road and forcefully robbing him of his property.
What else you need to know about protests in Kenya
Source: TUKO.co.ke