Police in Nyamira county have denied torturing and injuring an 18-year-old boy in Ekerenyo last week over claims of defilement.
The boy says he was beaten up by officers who arrested him with the girl and a friend, who has since gone missing with the girl. Police say he was raping the girl aged 16.
He is admitted at Nyamira Referral Hospital where he is chained to a bed under the guard of a police officer.
He suffered various injuries during the beating, including ruptured genitals. On Tuesday, he narrated how he was arrested by a group of people who identified themselves as community policing members. He was taken to Ekerenyo police station to record a statement on the alleged defilement charges.
On the way to Ekerenyo, he was allegedly beaten up by several officers escorting him to the station. “I was escorted by five police officers who were beating me on the way. The woman officer is the one who started torturing me. She was clobbering me and squeezing my genitals as the rest pinned me on the side of the police vehicle,” the boy said.
The boy cannot walk or stand up. He said the police who beat him up should face the law. He lives with his mother who works as a casual worker at a factory in Kericho county. After the arrest, he was transferred to Magwagwa police post where he spent the weekend.
“The police knew they were detaining me illegally at Ekerenyo. They knew they would be questioned on why I had not been taken me to court. I was arrested in the morning and was supposed to be charged before 4pm,” he said.
The boy was taken to Nyamira court and charged with rape and an attempt to escape from police custody. He denied the charges and was released on Sh100,000 bond for defilement and Sh10,000 bond for attempting to escape.
Nyamira county police commander Titus Karuri has defended the officers, saying the boy pretended to be sick after he was arrested and then tried to escape from the cells. Police say he was arrested at the Nyamira-Kericho border.
Karuri said the boy is an epileptic and claims that his genitals were injured during a beating are untrue.
“The young man’s case was reported to us and we followed up with the officers concerned. We realised the boy is a ‘smart liar’.
He was brought to the police station by the community policing members following a series of events he had been involved in, and he was charged according to the law,” Karuri said.
He said police officers never beat him up. He was rescued from residents who wanted to lynch him. The rape was among other incidents he is accused of being involved in, the police commander said. Ekerenyo police chief Maurice Asila also said the boy pretended to be sick to try and escape. “The boy has a criminal record well known to the community. That is why he wanted to escape from police custody,” Asila said.