Peter Mutai
10 February 2008
Nairobi — Four MPs want the police to release 17 suspects arrested over the killing of a Catholic priest in Koibatek District, three weeks ago.
Led by Eldama Ravine MP, Mr Moses Lesonnet, the legislators claimed that the suspects were innocent and accused the police of using excessive force against his constituents.
He said the officers' action had left many people, including children, traumatised.
"Most of these people are innocent but they are now living in fear," he said.
He said a man succumbed to a bullet wound, inflicted by a "trigger happy" policeman, last week at the Eldama Ravine District Hospital.
Father Michael Kamau, a lecturer at St Matthews Seminary in Kapsabet, was pulled out of his car and stoned to death by a group of youths who had erected illegal roadblocks along the Nakuru-Eldama Ravine road in what is seen as a revenge attack.
"We condemned the killing of the priest as it should not have happened," he said.
The MPs, who included Prof Hellen Sambili (Mogotio), Mr Luka Kigen (Rongai) and Mr Ekwe Ethuro (Turkana Central) spoke during a peace meeting at Muserechi trading centre on Friday.
Only elders attended the meeting, which was called to assure the residents of security and appeal to them to return home. The youth have gone into hiding.
The area has remained deserted since the incident three weeks ago. Families fled from their homes to evade police harassment.
Ethuro said MPs have agreed to resolve the crisis.
"If there is no evidence to sustain a case in court then let these people be released and independent investigation start. But if there is evidence then let them be taken to court immediately," said Kigen.
Koibatek DC, Mr Stephen Ikua, said officers from the Criminal Investigations Department were still investigating the matter.
The DC hinted that more arrests would be made as some culprits were still on the run.
A student who arrived from abroad is among those arrested.
On Saturday, the administrator ordered the release of the student, saying he was innocent.
"Those who did it are known by you but some of you are protecting them. The elders and clergy should be assisting the Government to arrest these criminals but they have failed," said the DC.
Ikua said the Government was investigating allegations that some residents were having illegal guns, adding that police officers would be deployed to beef up security.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 The East African Standard. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
