Police fire tear gas on crowds protesting Kenya blogger’s death in custody

Protests instrumentality spot astir a twelvemonth aft respective killed and seized by Kenyan constabulary successful concern measure protests.

Protesters took to the streets of Kenya’s superior Nairobi to explicit their fury implicit the decease of a blogger arrested by constabulary past week, arsenic the country’s constabulary watchdog reported that 20 radical had died successful custody implicit the past 4 months.

Police utilized teardrop state to disperse crowds gathered adjacent to the capital’s parliamentary gathering connected Thursday to protestation against the decease of Albert Ojwang, a 31-year-old blogger arrested successful the occidental municipality of Homa Bay past week for criticising the country’s lawman constabulary main Eliud Lagat.

Police had initially said Ojwang died “after hitting his caput against a compartment wall”, but pathologist Bernard Midia, portion of a squad that conducted an autopsy, said the wounds – including a caput injury, cervix compression and brushed insubstantial harm – pointed to battle arsenic the origin of death.

On Wednesday, President William Ruto admitted Ojwang had died “at the hands of the police”, reversing earlier authoritative accounts of his death, saying successful a connection that it was “heartbreaking and unacceptable”.

Kenyan media outlets reported connected Thursday that a constabulary constable had been arrested implicit Ojwang’s death.

Reporting from the protests successful Nairobi, Al Jazeera’s Malcolm Webb said that Ojwang, who wrote astir governmental and societal issues, had posted online astir Lagat’s alleged relation successful a “bribery scandal”, successful which the lawman constabulary main had already been implicated by a paper investigation.

“It’s angered radical that helium was detained for that, and past days later, dormant successful a constabulary station,” said Webb, who added that radical were calling for Lagat to beryllium held to account, and “persisting successful throwing stones astatine the constabulary successful spite of 1 volley of teardrop state aft the adjacent being fired astatine them”.

Finance measure protests: 1 twelvemonth on

The lawsuit has shone a airy connected the country’s information services, who person been accused of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances for years.

On Thursday, Independent Policing Oversight Authority chairperson Issak Hassan told lawmakers that determination had been “20 deaths successful constabulary custody successful the past 4 months”.

The authorities are present conducting an authoritative probe into Ojwang’s death.

On Wednesday, Inspector General Douglas Kanja apologised for constabulary having antecedently implied that Ojwang died by suicide, telling a Senate hearing: “He did not deed his caput against the wall.”

Ojwang’s decease comes astir a twelvemonth aft respective activists and protesters were killed and taken by constabulary during finance measure protests – galore are inactive missing.

The rallies led to calls for the removal of Ruto, who was criticised for the crackdown.

Amnesty International said Ojwang’s decease successful custody connected Saturday “must beryllium urgently, thoroughly and independently investigated”.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies