• Garissa Deputy Governor Abdi Dagane urges Ipoa to investigate, says all people should be treated with respect
• Two Cuban doctors abducted by al Shabaab a week ago in Mandera; Cuban doctors have also left Wajir and Garissa
Garissa Deputy Governor Abdi Dagane complained on Thursday the police are harassing innocent motorists after the abduction of two Cuban doctors from Mandera.
Police in Garissa over the weekend carried out a massive crackdown on Probox cars to determine their registration numbers.
It was claimed that most of the vehicles were from neighbouring Somalia and had fake number plates.
The crackdown was also carried out in Mandera and Wajir following the abduction of the doctors in the heart of Mandera town on Friday last week.
The kidnappers used two Proboxes to block the doctors' vehicle. They bundled them into their vehicles and drove off to Bula Hawa in Somalia.
Dagane met officials of the Independent Policing Oversight Authority in his office.
He later told the press he had expressed dismay at the crackdown and said police should be civil and treat wananchi with dignity and respect.
The Deputy Governor said police had no reason to be high-handed with motorists over a crime that happened hundreds of kilometres away.
"This is unacceptable and we are urging IPOA to investigate,” Dagane said.
He cited police harassment of rural communities where most people have no identity cards or birth certificates.
Dagane urged IPOA to also look into allegations of collective punishment of a community for a crime committed by an individual, extrajudicial killings, disappearances of persons and damage to property by security agencies.
“It is important police officers follow due process in dealing with crime and or suspects,” he said.
The deputy governor called for collaboration in security between the counties and national government. This will avoid alienating communities in northern Kenya under the pretext of fighting terror.
"That's the reason Governor Ali Korane expressed scepticism about the National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS) registration that has the potential of further alienating our communities, " he said.
The IPOA commissioners, led by chairperson Anne Nyokabi, promised to follow up the cases with a view to acting upon them.
“In IPOA we always maintain the rule of law should always be applied to all individuals and never be violated," she said.
She urged the community to report any police violations to their offices for action.