Interior CS Kithure Kindiki has said deaths reported during the anti-Finance Bill protests should not have happened.
The CS condoled with families and friends of the people who lost their lives during the protests.
Kindiki said the country witnessed a security breach during the mass protests after peaceful demonstrations were hijacked by dangerous criminal gangs.
‘The loss of lives that were occasioned during the protests is regrettable. The Cabinet sent its condolences and I reiterate in my capacity as the Interior minister, it should not have happened,” Kindiki said on Thursday during an interview on Citizen TV.
“The death of a single Kenyan is painful and a loss to the country.”
He said the families of those who lost their lives will get justice through accountability.
“Any death outside the law must be accounted for. Of all the 25 Kenyans who lost their lives, we have an account for each one of them. A file has been opened for each one of them. Investigations are ongoing,” Kindiki added.
The Kenya Human Rights Commission said on Thursday it had confirmed the deaths of 41 people and over 350 injuries mostly attributed to police action.
Kindiki on his part commended police officers who for exercising restraint while executing the duty to maintain peace and order during the protests.
“Our officers did their best in the circumstances, some of them got hurt, 43 of them. We commended them, those officers who did what they did within the law,” he said.
He, however, said that any reported claims of police excesses during the revolt will be investigated and cuplable officers held to account.
Tuesday protests were largely violent with widespread cases of looting and destruction of businesses.
Kindiki vowed to deal with alleged criminals who infiltrated the peaceful demonstrations and caused anarchy.
On Thursday, the Cabinet said police officers who will be found to have conducted themselves unlawfully in the course of containing protesters will be held accountable within the law.
In a dispatch after a meeting chaired by President William Ruto at State House, Nairobi, the Cabinet said all claims of police excesses will be investigated and officers found culpable punished.
“It was noted that claims of unlawful conduct by some law enforcement officers would be investigated and dealt with within the law,” the dispatch said.
There has been widespread condemnation of alleged police excesses during the protests with human rights defenders calling for action against officers involved.
Source: theStars .co.ke
Original writer: PERPETUA ETYANG