• The two brothers were last seen alive in Kianjokoma town on August 1.
• They were out of school on long holidays.
Image: DOUGLAS OKIDDY
Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i on Wednesday met the parent of two brothers who died under controversial circumstances and pledged justice will prevail.
The CS said he met the father of the two brothers John Ndwiga and told him as a responsible government, they will go the direction investigations will lead them.
The two brothers, Benson Njiru, 22, and Emmanuel Mutura, 19, were last seen alive in Kianjokoma town on August 1 night as police arrested them for being outside during curfew hours.
Njiru was a student at Kabarak University.
His brother Mutura studied at Don Bosco Technology Training Institute in Karen, Nairobi.
They were out on long holidays and were making money in the meantime.
Matiang’i said he met Ndwiga in Nairobi in the company of Inspector-General of Police Hillary Mutyambai and Attorney General Paul Kihara.
“Two investigative agencies including Internal Affairs Unit and Independent Policing Oversight Authority are investigating the incident and will give us their findings soon. We will follow the law and direction of the probe,” he said.
The bodies of the two were found at the Embu Level Five Hospital mortuary.
The bodies were discovered three days after they were arrested for allegedly breaking Covid-19 rules.
An autopsy on the bodies showed they had multiple injuries in the head and elbows.
Police had claimed they jumped out of a moving vehicle as they were being taken to the local police cells. Their family claimed the brothers were murdered by police officers.
It emerged a number of local leaders had petitioned the IG to institute an independent probe into the incident.
They argued the alibi given by local police was not satisfactory hence the need for an independent probe into the matter. IAU director Mohamed Amin is leading the probe.
Among others, the team will investigate the issue of negligence. As part of efforts to strengthen the unit’s operations, IAU has been allowed to establish and devolve its services to conduct investigations into police misconduct in a fair and effective manner and report directly to the Inspector General.
The unit is mandated to among others deal with cases of indiscipline, including corruption, police misconduct within the police service either raised by an officer or members of the public.
The Embu deaths sparked protests in the area leading to the torching of a police vehicle.
Edited by CM