Mother of Kabete killer cop describes him as amiable

The mother of the deranged officer who shot dead his lover and five other people before killing himself has opened up on his second-born son.
Rael Imbatu, mother to Constable Benson Imbatu, described him as a polite and responsible son, who would not let his family go hungry.

She recalled that her son last sent her money in September to pay tea pickers.

Speaking to People Daily, Rael said his first wife had settled in Kitale with her three children. “I had not met the woman who died,” she said.
Preliminary investigations suggested the shooting may have been triggered by a love triangle.

Imbatu is said to have excused himself and drove to his house, about 2km away, where he shot dead his wife, identified as Caroline Asava on the neck at their house located at “N” Market.

December help
Asava’s mother, Azibeta Asava yesterday said she met the officer on November 15 when the two visited her. “He told me he wanted to marry my daughter and I never objected. I am devastated since I was expecting some help from them this December,” she said.

Human rights organisations yesterday termed the incident an outright case of indiscipline and not a mental issue as claimed by senior officers.
Residents and activists said Imbatu had in the past been involved in several disciplinary and criminal cases, which his seniors turned a blind eye to.

“Assuming that Imbatu had a known mental problem as has been reported, how could an officer who has mental issues be given firearms and 30 bullets?” Sabu Dorcas, an activist, asked.

On the fateful Tuesday morning, Imbatu shot dead his lover and five other boda boda riders before blowing his head using an AK47 rifle that he had been issued with for official duties. He was under investigations over the shooting of a man in April .

In Nairobi, human right defenders faulted the police, saying it took too long for them to respond.

“How could the shooting of innocent people continue unabated for about two and a half hours without a swift response from Kabete Police Station?” they asked.

A post-mortem conducted yesterday revealed that most of the victims were shot on the chest and died of excess internal bleeding.

Haki Africa Programme Officer Salima Macharia said they were also concerned by increased cases of officers from Kabete using private cars and dressed in plain clothes when conducting security operations despite the fact that the government, through the Interior ministry, advised against this.

“That Imbatu was using a private car and was not in uniform raises a lot of accountability concerns as police can easily deny that they are not involved,” the Kangemi Grassroots Human Rights Movement members said.
They asked the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (Ipoa) to conduct speedy investigations into the matter and make findings public.

Ipoa yesterday said they had launched probe into the shooting and had already dispatched the Rapid Response Team.

“In line with provisions of Section 25 of Ipoa Act, which dictates that deaths and injuries occasioned by actions of police be investigated by the authority, regardless of whether the officer involved is dead or alive,” Ipoa chair Ann Makori said.

Counselling services
Ipoa has also urged police officers to fully explore mechanisms of addressing issues that affect their work. This includes lodging complaints with Ipoa through toll-free number 1559 besides also regularly utilising counselling services provided by the National Police Service.

They demanded that all private vehicles used for patrol be stopped immediately and that all the families of the victims be promptly compensated including supporting education of their children till they complete their studies.