Crime busters, popularly known as Hessy wa Dandora, have rubbished claims by Dandora residents that the five suspected gangsters shot on Sunday were innocent.
This is despite protests by rights activists who have raised issues with police officers' use of excessive force when dealing with people they suspect to be involved in crime.
Dandora Community Justice Centre was the first to voice opposition in the manner in which five men, among them a scrap metal dealer, were killed.
Details in our possession show that Alex Githuku, one of the victims worked with a firm that deals in scrap metals.
Residents accused the police of acting outside the law, saying the suspects could have been arrested and prosecuted if they had a case to answer.
Scrap metal dealer Alex Githuku's ID. He was among five shot dead by crime busters at the Dandora dumpsite on Sunday, August 26, 2018. /COURTESY
They said Alex had run the business for more than 10 years and he had no known criminal record.
Those who spoke with the media said the officers torched the premises where the five were short, ostensibly to conceal evidence.
Related:
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Hessy wa Dandora said the five deserved to die due to serious security challenges in the area.
"Hakuna kitu kama mauaji tatanishi hapa (there is nothing like a controversial killing here), all of them deserved to die that way," it said.
"Na hata wangepatikana kumi wote wangekufa tu, hakuna yule angebaki hai." (Even if they were ten, they would have all died, no one would be spared).
The police, however, defended itself saying the men were gunned down after a shootout at the Dandora dumpsite.
However, their action contravenes certain provisions of the National Police Service Act, 2014.
Sections 61(2) says that a police can only use force when non-violent means are ineffective.
The law states that the force used should be
proportional to the intended objective, seriousness of the offence, and resistance by a person.
It further states that officers should
immediately
provide medical assistance in case they instil injury on a suspect, unless there are good reasons.
"Failure to do so, is a criminal offence," the law states.
The Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) is mandated
to investigate cases of killings carried out by police officers
But the Hessy wa Dandora team maintained that innocent people in Dandora would be terrorised by criminals who have a tendency of disappearing into the dumpsite.
It claimed all hardcore criminals in Nairobi converge at the garbage site where the five men met their untimely death.
Hessy wa Dandora further said the same place is where criminals from Eastlands go to hide their guns after accomplishing their illegal missions.
"That’s the major reason the structures were burnt to ashes so that no criminal will come back at the same point to plan evil again," it said.
The group said it would strike again if the structures at the dumpsite would be rebuilt.
"Na mkijenga tena, kisha mlete wezi ndio muendelee kufaidika (if you rebuild again, then bring thieves to benefit) at the expense of innocent people’s lives, we will strike again, and this time round it won’t be favourable to anyone around that place," it said.