Government officials deny Ruto’s claim that he was injured by police

Dennis Tarus

November 8, 2016 10:42 AM

Bomet County Commissioner Benard Leparmarai has denied claims that the injuries sustained by Governor Isaac Ruto were inflicted by the police.

Ruto had alleged that administration police officers lobbed a teargas canister at him while dispersing a crowd after a confrontation between his supporters and the police at Silibwet Stadium in Bomet.

Commissioner Leparmarai said that the claims were false and that if a teargas had actually hit him, he would have sustained far worse injuries than what he had suffered from.

“A teargas canister is normally fired, and if it hits and explodes on your face, it would cause a lot of damage than what we saw,” the county commissioner said.

The county commissioner said that the governor might have been injured after he fell down or as a result of stones which were hurled during the fracas that ensued at the stadium.

Police report

Commissioner Leparmai said Ruto was free to report the matter to any authority including the Independent Policing and Oversight Authority (IPOA) if he had evidence that the police assaulted him.

He said that the police were at the stadium to maintain law and order after they had received information that the governor had organised hooligans to disrupt the public event.

Police spokesman Charles Owino, said that Ruto did not report the matter to any police station and should have done so in order for investigations into the incident be carried out.

On Monday, a cross section of leaders led by Cord principal Raila Odinga, condemned the attack on the governor saying the incident was a worrying continuing trend which the government employs as a way of dealing with dissent and its opponents.

Dennis Tarus