Boinnet Speaks on police shooting Boniface Mwangi in the chest

mary kulundu

October 25, 2017 3:39 PM

Here is Boinnet's explanation after Boniface Mwangi was shot in the chest

Vocal human rights activist Boniface Mwangi was badly injured during a demonstration he staged in Nairobi’s Central Business District (CBD) last week.

Mwangi was protesting against police brutal killings across the country since August 8 General Election.

During the demos, police officers were caught on tape harassing Mr. Mwangi and at some point, one of the officers shot a teargas on the activist’s chest.

This threw the former Starehe Parliamentary aspirant to the ground and was seen writhing in pain.

The clip was shared widely on social media with many expressing anger towards the police on how they handled the situation.

Commenting on the matter for the first time, Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet denied having knowledge of the incident, which was covered on live broadcasting.

Mr. Boinnet stated that Mwangi did not have a permit to hold protests in Nairobi.

According to the IG, the activist sent a letter of permit to the wrong police officer, hence, his demo was illegal.

“Was he shot in the chest? I did not see that live footage. But I need to say this. Boniface did not comply with the law because the Public Order Act requires that before you stage a demonstration or a procession, you have to notify the officer in charge of the police station. He did not do that,” Boinnet mentioned.

“The letter he sent to the police was misdirected because he was supposed to notify the officer in charge of the police station and get a response from that officer,” he added during an interview on KTN.

Boinnet further dismissed a report by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW)indicating that 33 people in Nairobi alone have been killed by police officers.

However, he noted that he was aware of 12 Kenyans who have died.

mary kulundu