The Independent Policing Oversight Authority Authority (IPOA) has opened investigations into the shooting of two high school students by an alleged senior police officer in Nakuru.
19-year-old Whitney Anyango was fatally injured in the incident said to have occurred at Lakeview on Sunday, June 12, 2022. The other student sustained serious injuries.
IPOA dispatches team to Nakuru
In a statement to newsrooms on Tuesday, IPOA Chairperson Anne Makori said a rapid team has been dispatched to the area to look into the matter.
“This is informed by Section 7 (a)(x) of IPOA Act which dictates that deaths and injuries occasioned by actions of the police be investigated by the Authority, and Section 5 of the Sixth Schedule of the National Police Service Act which compels the police to report all deaths, serious injury and other grave consequences to the Authority for investigations,” Makori said.
Makori revealed that the IPOA team has since interviewed some of the witnesses and contacted police officers including commanders with the aim of obtaining all information and material relevant in unravelling circumstances surrounding the incident.
“Where criminal culpability is established, the Authority shall make recommendations, including but not limited to prosecution,” she added.
In the incident that sparked protests in Nakuru yesterday, Bondeni OCS Eric Wekesa has been accused of misusing his firearm.
The police boss was reportedly leading a team of officers on patrol in Flamingo Ward to weed out criminal gangs when a standoff ensued after officers rounded up a group of youths alleged to be gang members.
During the incident, the OCS is alleged to have drawn his pistol after the group started charging toward them demanding the release of those arrested and, in the process, firing a shot that wounded Ruth Waithera’s arm before hitting Anyango in the stomach.
Anyango died at the Nakuru Level Five Hospital while undergoing treatment whereas Waithera is undergoing treatment with doctors hinting at a possible amputation.
The Form Two students at Nakuru Central Secondary School are said to have been on their way home when they were caught up in the melee.
