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Kenya Police Probe Whipping Pictures After Outcry

Kenya Police Probe Whipping Pictures After Outcry
Kenya Police Probe Whipping Pictures After Outcry

GARISSA, Kenya, Jun 1 โ€“ Police in Kenya said Monday they have launched an investigation into photos posted on social media that appear to show officers mercilessly whipping a group of Somali youths.

The pictures were posted on the Facebook page of Michael Orita, who sources say is a senior police official in Kenyaโ€™s northeastern county of Garissa, the scene of the April massacre of nearly 150 students by Somalia-led Shabaab rebels.

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The victims were identified in the Facebook post as Somali youths who had crossed the border into Garissa.

โ€œThese Somalia young men came to Garissa for a purpose but little did they know we are smarter than themโ€ฆ we shall not relent on security issues,โ€ the post says.

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The photos show a group of around 10 young men face down on the ground while they are being whipped by what looks to be a rubber hose by a man in civilian clothes carrying an assault rifle.

Uniformed police look on and a marked police car is visible in the background.

Another picture appears to show another plain-clothes official trampling over the youths. The pictures were later pulled from the social networking site after an outcry over police brutality.

โ€œHow will the security agencies expect the local people to work with them while they torture people in this manner?โ€ said Khalif Abdi, coordinator of the North-Eastern Forum for Democracy.

โ€œWhat will stop the victims from harbouring resentment against their government and having a soft heart for terrorists?โ€

Garissa County police commander Shadarack Maitha said an investigation was under way.

โ€“ Checking authenticity โ€“

โ€œThe pictures have come to my attention and I have instructed the relevant agencies to speedily investigate their authenticity and whether the person claiming to be a senior police officer who posted them is a genuine member of our security force,โ€ he said.

Maithia said he was unable to confirm if there was a Michael Orita in the local force.

But he added: โ€œEven if we found we have such person in our force we canโ€™t conclusively say he is responsible without our investigation proving that.โ€

โ€œWhat is seen in the pictures is wrong. It is against the ethics and the code of conduct for any security force. Iโ€™m disturbed but it is good for us to be patient for our investigations to establish whether they are genuine,โ€ he said.

Quoted by The Star newspaper, Garissa County Commissioner James Kianda said those involved โ€œwill face disciplinary action, of course subject to validation.โ€

โ€œThis is not how we want to fight terrorism,โ€ Kenyaโ€™s national police chief Joseph Boinett was also quoted as saying.

Source-capitalfm.co.ke

Kenya Police Probe Whipping Pictures After Outcry

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