Kenya: controversy after the death of two brothers arrested for not respecting the curfew
Kenyan police patrolling the streets of Nairobi on May 7, 2020 (Illustrative image).
© SIMON MAINA / AFP
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
Emotion and anger in Kenya after the deaths of two young student brothers.
Benson Njiru Ndwiga, 22, and Emmanuel Muhura Ndwiga, 19, were found dead after being arrested on August 1 by police for allegedly defying the 10 p.m. curfew.
A measure implemented in Kenya to fight against the pandemic.
It was the family of the victims who found their bodies two days later in a hospital morgue.
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With our correspondent in Nairobi,
Albane Thirouard
Photos of the collapsed mom at the funeral on Friday have made the rounds on social media.
And calls for justice are multiplying.
Because the police are suspected of being responsible for the death of the two students.
A version denied by the officers concerned.
The pain of a mother receiving the caskets of her two sons.
No parent or sibling deserves such pain.
#JusticeForKianjokomaBrothers pic.twitter.com/GOhT4vUFg8
- Amnesty Kenya (@AmnestyKenya) August 13, 2021
The autopsy revealed that the two young people had died from blows to the head and ribs.
According to the officers present during the arrest, the boys injured themselves on the way to the police station.
They allegedly jumped from the moving police vehicle.
Then they reportedly succumbed to their injuries in hospital.
Police investigation begins
Several human rights associations, however, question the officers' version and accuse them of being responsible for the deaths.
According to national media, witnesses had indeed seen the police beating the two brothers.
The families of the victims are therefore asking for answers.
A call for justice to be done en masse by Kenyans on Twitter.
But also in the streets of Kianjokoma, the city where the arrest took place, and where demonstrations took place last week.
Because these recent deaths are not isolated cases.
NGOs denounce strong police brutality in Kenya since the implementation of health measures.
Faced with these reactions, the Kenyan authorities have promised to investigate.
The Minister of the Interior even met the parents of the two students to assure them that justice will be done.
And the police have already started their investigation.
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