A family in Watamu is seeking justice after their 16-year-old son was allegedly beaten and injured by police officers at Kizingo police station in Malindi.
The Form 3 student at Barani Secondary School was reportedly in a matatu heading home when he got into an altercation with another passenger.
The conductor of the matatu then took him to the nearby police station along the Malindi-Mombasa highway, where officers allegedly assaulted him using a wooden bar.
“After an altercation in the matatu, the conductor accused me of being arrogant and took me to the police station,” the student said.
He recounted that, while at the station, he was beaten and sustained serious injuries to his thighs.
Since the incident, which occurred on Monday, he has been unable to walk or attend school.
“My friends are currently doing examinations, but I have not been able to go to school because of the pain,” he added.
His mother, Phiona Maitha, said she received a phone call from a police officer on Monday evening informing her that her son was being held at the station.
“I rushed there and was told my son was involved in an altercation in a matatu. At the station, I found that he had already been ‘disciplined’. However, they allowed me to take him home,” she said.
The next day, she said, they discovered he was unable to walk due to the injuries.
“We returned to the station to try and get the truth, write a statement and seek justice for my son. The officers were initially reluctant to record our statement in the Occurrence Book (OB), and it took a while before they finally agreed,” she said.
Maitha expressed concern over whether her firstborn son would ever receive justice.
“I ask the government to intervene. My son was still in school uniform when he was assaulted, and he has not been able to go to school since,” she said.
Joseph Kiponda, a local businessman, said he had to contact the senior police officers in the region to compel Kizingo police to record the family’s statement and issue them with an OB number.
“I got the information and tried to follow up. I called the OCS at Kizingo, who confirmed that the boy had indeed been held at the station,” Kiponda said.
He added that he would escalate the matter to the relevant authorities, including the Independent Policing Oversight Authority to ensure the family gets justice.
“The conductor and the police officer at Kizingo are friends. The boy deserves justice. This is now the third day he hasn’t gone to school,” Kiponda said.
