• They are set to appear in court where police will seek more time under a miscellaneous application to hold them as they complete investigations.
• Haji ordered the arrest of six police officers to avoid any interference with evidence and or intimidation of witnesses.
Image: BENJAMIN NYAGAH
The six police officers linked to the death of two brothers in Kianjokoma in Embu were Tuesday moved to Nairobi ahead of their arraignment.
They are set to appear in court where police will seek more time under a miscellaneous application to hold them as they complete investigations.
This is based on a finding by the Internal Affairs Unit (IAU) of police in a file forwarded to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
IAU had launched their own inquiries into the possible culpability of the officers.
Haji ordered the arrest of six police officers to avoid any interference with evidence and or intimidation of witnesses.
The DPP also directed the Inspector General of Police Hilary Mutyambai to suspend the area Officer Commanding Police Division (OCPD) and his Officer Commanding Station (OCS) Manyatta over the incident.
“Additionally, I direct that further investigations be carried out into the role of the OCPD and OCS. Pending the same, I recommend that they be suspended from duty,” said the DPP in a letter to the IGP.
The directive was separate from an earlier one in which he ordered the arrest and arraignment of the six officers who were directly linked to the arrest of the two brothers.
The death of Benson Njiru and Emmanuel Mutura in the hands of police has caused an uproar in the country as Kenyans called for justice for the two brothers.
President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered security officials to establish how the two met their deaths while in police custody.
Njiru, who was a student at Kabarak University and Mutura were last seen on Sunday, August 1, around 10 pm.
Their bodies were found at the Embu General Hospital morgue two days later.
The shocking find sparked riots around Kianjokoma trading centre, in which a police vehicle was torched by angry residents.
Manyatta OCS Adullahi Yaya and Embu North OCPD Emily Ngaruiya, who have since been transferred, said the two brothers jumped out of a moving police vehicle.
They will now be suspended.
The DPP said Monday the arrest of the six officers will happen pending investigations by the Ipoa to avoid any interference with evidence and or intimidation of witnesses.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority said investigations had established a prima facie case against the six police officers for the crime of murder.
Ipoa recommended that the officers be relieved of their duties immediately pending the outcome of an independent review of the findings, which will be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The agency added the six officers face a capital offence – murder.
“The officers and their commanders, who have since been interrogated and their statements recorded, be available round the clock for further assistance to IPOA investigators when called upon,” the Authority added.
In addition to murder, the Authority is pursuing other charges, such as negligence in the performance of duty, which may have been committed by any other officers who attended to the two brothers’ deaths.
According to a post-mortem examination carried out at the Embu Level Five Hospital mortuary, Njiru and Emmanuel Mutura, 19, succumbed to injuries inflicted by a blunt object.
The autopsy noted Mutura's head was deformed and bore bruises in the face while Njiru's ribs had been broken. Additionally, Njiru's brain had an injury.
Edited by D Tarus