IPOA revealed that it had investigated the teargas incident and established unprofessionalism on the part of the police, leading to a call for action.
On 28th December 2024, a thanksgiving event at Shamata Stadium in Nyandarua County was disrupted when a teargas canister was hurled at the dais. The suspect, reportedly a police officer, was subjected to mob justice by the public, before being rescued by the police.
IPOA monitored the activity in order to provide recommendations and advisory for further action. The following were the findings: The event, organized by the area MCA was initially canceled but later approved by the Aberdare Sub-County Security Committee on 27th December 2024.
At least 60 police officers were deployed without an official operation order. The County Police Commander, led the operation but did not log her presence in the station’s Occurrence Book.
Five suspects were arrested in the morning for planning to disrupt the event but were later released on instructions from the County Police Commander. The released suspects’ details were not fully recorded in the Occurrence Book, raising accountability concerns.
The teargas incident caused panic as a senator was delivering his speech. The suspect who claimed to be a police officer from Athi River was taken to Ndaragwa Police Station but was not booked and was later released.
The Internal Affairs Unit (IAU) and Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) investigated the suspect’s mysterious release and police handling of the case and concluded the following:
- The police failed to handle the arrest and processing of the suspect professionally.
- Despite intelligence on potential disruption, no Operation Order was prepared for public order management of the event.
- The suspect police officer’s release without formal booking or investigations highlights negligence and possible abuse of authority by the police.
- On own-motion, IPOA conducted thorough investigations into police inaction, negligence, and misconduct and recommends that accountability measures be enforced for officers involved in the inappropriate handling of the incident