A 26-year-old man in Kwale County is nursing serious injuries after he was allegedly beaten senselessly by police officers enforcing the night curfew.
Ruwa Arun Mtenzi who hails from Mwangulu sub location of Lunga Lunga Sub County is asking for justice following the assault on Friday night that left him with serious head and limb injuries.
The victim narrated to journalists how two police officers assaulted him at around 9 pm while he was coming back from the toilet that is situated outside his house.
He said he had just finished having his super when the urge to go for a call of nature arouse.
“As I was walking back from the toilet I saw two people with torches running towards me and I bolted towards the room,” he said.
He said the two men followed him and persistently knocked on his door, saying they were police officers enforcing the coronavirus night restrictions.
The distraught man said upon opening the door the two police officers started raining kicks and blows and whipping him, claiming that he was breaking the curfew by walking around.
He said when he fell unconscious the police took him to a nearby health centre and claimed that he was involved in an accident.
A local human rights activist, Mohamed Mwakuyala said police in Mwangulu refused to record a statement over the same.
The rights activist said when they inquired about the assault issue police told them that the victim hurt himself as he was running away from the police.
“People like to exaggerate things and put every blame on the police because this man got injuries while running away from the officers who were on night patrol” said Mwangulu police post head, Edward Luta.
The Lunga-Lunga Deputy County Commissioner (DCC), Josphat Biwot however, advised Mtenzi to report an official statement in Lunga-Lunga police station for investigations to commence.
“We would advise the victim to come and record his statement at the Lunga Lunga police station so that we commence on investigations to know what exactly happened” he said.
Muslims for Human Rights (Muhuri) rapid response officer, Francis Ouma condemned police brutality in the area and said they have taken up the matter and will make sure justice prevails.
He said the incident comes barely five days after a 23-year-old barman was senselessly beaten to death by the police enforcing the coronavirus night curfew and asked the police to respect the rule of law even in times of crisis.
By Hussein Abdullahi
