16 May 2016•Update: 20 May 2016
By Andrew Ross
NAIROBI, Kenya
An opposition supporter who was beaten by Kenyan police on Monday during protests which turned violent has succumbed to his injuries.
The man, identified as Ben Ngari, age unknown, died early Tuesday just hours after he was beaten by officers from the General Service Unit (GSU), a paramilitary wing of Kenya’s National Police Service.
On Monday a video of the beating was shared on social media, angering Kenyans and leading to calls for justice.
In the video Ngari can be seen running from the police and tripping before two police officers descend on him and beat him with clubs. When one of the clubs breaks into two, they start kicking Ngari, who is lying on the sidewalk and appears to be unconscious.
After some time, a senior officer yells in Swahili, “That is enough officers, that is enough officers,” prompting the police to leave the unconscious man.
On Tuesday, the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) vowed that the policemen who caused his death will face justice.
“It is up to the police to protect the public, armed or unarmed, to not beat up people,” Macharia Njeru chairman of the Independent Policing Oversight Authority, told reporters on Tuesday.
“They should follow the law that guides their work ethic and human rights. The officers involved in beating the protesters yesterday broke the law and due action will be taken”.
The IPOA said the way police handled Monday’s protest, aimed at forcing out Kenya’s electoral supervision body, had violated the law.
Members of the opposition have vowed that they will protest in the Kenyan capital Nairobi and all major town every Monday to push for dissolution of the country’s electoral board.
Opposition leader Raila Odinga has asked his supporters to turn up in large numbers to force out the board, which he says plans to rig the August 2017 general elections in favor of President Uhuru Kenyatta.
