Hundreds of residents of Njoro township, Nakuru county took to the streets on Saturday to protest alleged police harassment.
The residents accused the police of arresting people on flimsy trumped-up charges on Friday evening and only release them after parting with some amounts.
Trouble started on Friday evening when police raided a famous eating point at around 7.00 pm and arrested all the revellers.
Njoro Business community chairperson, Kariuki Wamatinga said two people have suffered grievous harm while another one was beaten up in full view of his children.
He said one of the men suffered a fractured ankle and was treated at the Rift Valley Provincial General Hospital on Friday 17.
The incident triggered night protests with the demonstrators lighting bonfires outside the Njoro Police Station.
The demonstration extended to Saturday when the residents conducted a peaceful protest and delivered a memorandum to the Officers Commanding Police Station.
“The police are abusing Covid-19 prevention measure rule on masking up and arresting people have removed their masks to eat, how can an officer enter an eatery and expect to find people masked up,” he questioned.
He observed that the officers were harassing people and beating them with wooden sticks and engaging in fistfights
Wamatangi said he will join the residents and the people who have been injured and harassed to file a case against the police.
“The community is going to engage a lawyer and at the same time write a petition to the Independent Police Oversight Authority (Ipoa).
Anthony Ndung’u whose leg was fractured said he was beaten up and thrown out of police Land Cruiser at the station.
He claimed that he had his mask on when he was arrested by the police on Friday with his only mistake being going to the eatery to find out what was causing the commotion.
Another resident, Daniel Kariuki claimed that police knocked off his three front teeth during an arrest.
Edited by D Tarus
