IMLU wants police boss suspended

Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU) yesterday called for the immediate suspension of Nakuru County Police Commander Peter Mwanzo.

IMLU Organisation also wants Mwanzo investigated over alleged executions of four young men, including the ones that have happened in other jurisdictions where he has been in command, noting that the killings in Nakuru happened barely weeks after he took office.  

According to the organisation, the executions have come less than two months after similar killings happened in Mwanzo’s former jurisdiction.

IMLU Executive Director Peter Kiama, in a statement yesterday, said the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (Ipoa) and the Internal Affairs Unit (IAU) should undertake thorough investigations into the killings.

 “Officers suspected of committing the executions should be suspended, investigated, charged, and prosecuted without further delay. We are also calling on the public to come out and share any information regarding this matter with Ipoa and IAU,” Kiama said.

This comes days after four young men were gunned down by police in Kwa Maiko area in Barut, over suspicion of being members of the outlawed gang, who had been said to have engaged officers in a shootout before they were neutralised.

Collins Kibet, 16, Collins Kipkorir (21), Kevin Kipyegon (20) and Dennis Kipchirchir (23), were shot dead on July 14 night with IMLU calling for immediate placement in witness protection of all witnesses and other acquaintances of the deceased willing to give evidence.

During a media briefing after the incident, Mwanzo confirmed that the suspects were gunned down by officers who were on a night patrol, alleging that they were part of the gang that had been earmarked earlier by security agencies and blamed for a spate of violent crimes.

Kiama, in a statement, revealed that their preliminary findings pointed to a police service gone rogue and that the execution of the four was premeditated, planned and executed.

Witness reports

Kiama said family members and neighbours witnessed as officers picked the four from their houses in Kwa Maiko village, Barut, Nakuru West sub-county and from the manner in which they were identified, it was apparent that the officers knew who they were looking for. 

“They were thereafter taken to Dennis Kipchirir’s house in Kwa Maiko village, where they were executed in cold blood. Witnesses reports indicate there was no violent confrontation with the officers as earlier reported by the Police Commander,” Kiama said.

He revealed that their findings indicate that after execution, officers from Ronda Police Station took the bodies to Nakuru County Referral Hospital Level Five Hospital morgue.

Close range

 “Further witnesses report shows the officers who executed the four had picked other suspects and upon roughing them up, released them. This act strongly suggests that the killer officers had marked the four for execution,” he said.

Kiama further notes that police statement on the happenings on that fateful night was not corroborated by post-mortem examinations conducted on Tuesday, which indicated that the victims were shot at close range manifested by gunshot wounds that were identified on the head, chest and abdomen.

“Two of the victims were shot standing in an upright position and the other two were kneeling thus the gun’s nasal was faced downwards. Three were shot from behind and one from the side.  Further examination showed the bodies were dragged on the ground, which implies that the place where they were collected was a secondary crime scene,” Kiama held.

Kiama said there was no evidence of defensive wounds on the bodies of the victims, stating with witness statements and the forensic findings clearly point to a case of cold-blooded murder by police officers.