The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) has opened investigations into the death of a man in the hands of the police.
The police are believed to have beaten to death 38-year-old John Kiiru on Wednesday night while enforcing curfew orders.
“IPOA today received information on the death of a man at Tushauriane area of Kayole, Nairobi. Pursuant to Section 25 of IPOA Act which requires that deaths that result from police action or are caused by members of the National Police Service while on duty be investigated, the Authority launched investigations into the death today,” said IPOA Chairperson Anne Makori.
The agency will seek to establish whether Kiiru succumbed to injuries inflicted by the police.
Read: Police on the Spot for Allegedly Killing Man while Enforcing Curfew in Kayole
Ms Makori also stated that appropriate action will be taken should officers be found culpable.
Residents of Nairobi’s Kayole area engaged police in running battles for the better part of Thursday following the death of Kiiru.
According to locals, the deceased had hailed a boda boda home, when police officers cornered and attacked him at Tushauriane Stage.
The rider of the motorcycle that he was aboard, however, managed to escape.
Read Also: Six Officers Involved in Killing of Kianjokoma Brothers Detained for 14 Days
Kiiru is said to have attempted to escape the scene on foot when the police officers pursued and attacked him, causing grievous harm.
He is said to have succumbed to his injuries at the scene where the officers abandoned him.
His wife, Esther Wanjiru, said the deceased had called her at around midnight informing her that he had been seriously assaulted by men in uniform.
“I did not hear from him again until this morning when his body was found,” she said.
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Police are also on the spot for the murder of two Embu brothers, a fortnight ago.
Six officers have since been detained as investigations into the matter continue.
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