Willis Otieno lectures police after Constable Klinzy is charged with Boniface Kariuki’s murder
By Ascah Mwango, July 10, 2025Kenyan lawyer and political commentator Willis Otieno has launched a blistering attack on the police service following the decision to charge a police officer with the murder of a mask vendor, Boniface Kariuki.
In a strongly worded statement shared on his X account on Thursday, July 10, 2025, Otieno accused some police officers of betraying their oath to serve the public and instead using violence to silence dissent.
“To Police Officers in Kenya: You swore to serve and protect. But somewhere along the way, some of you traded your oath for a pay cheque, your honour for a baton, and your conscience for cowardice,” Otieno stated.
“You are not warriors. You are not patriots. You are not avenging the nation; you are silencing it. You’re dragging students from beds, beating unarmed citizens in alleys, abducting activists like it’s a video game,” he added.
Otieno further warned officers that they were being used by a failing system that would eventually abandon them.
“You take selfies in uniform, then disappear into the night like hired guns for a collapsing regime. The same government that uses you today will discard you tomorrow. They will not stand by you in court. They will not feed your children when you’re fired. You are pawns in a bloody chess game. And when this system falls, and it will, you’ll be the first ones sacrificed. You are not above the law,” he concluded.
Otieno’s strong sentiments come as Constable Klinzy Masinde Barasa, attached to Kayole Police Station, is set to face murder charges for the killing of Boniface, who was shot on June 17, 2025, during protests in Nairobi’s CBD.
Earlier today, the Nairobi High Court ordered Barasa to undergo a mental assessment before he can plead to the charge.
Justice Kanyi Kimondo said the assessment must be done to determine whether the officer is mentally fit to stand trial.
“You shall be escorted to Mbagathi District Hospital or Kenyatta National Hospital or indeed any other convenient government facility for mental assessment,” Justice Kimondo directed.
Barasa will be held at Nairobi Remand Prison for 14 days pending the results of the evaluation.