A row is brewing up in Garissa between a section of leaders and community members on one hand and police on the other following the death of a taxi driver this morning under unclear circumstances.
Leaders and family members claim the deceased taxi operator, 25-year-old Sheikh Ahmed Omar, was shot dead by officers from the Rapid Deployment Unit (RDU) stationed at Modika, who were manning a roadblock along the Nunow–Modogashe road, while the police maintain the victim died in a self-involved accident while fleeing from police who were pursuing him.
Speaking at the Garissa mortuary after viewing the body of the deceased, Garissa Township MP Major (Rtd) Dekow Mohamed, who was accompanied by a host of MCAs and community leaders, said they will not permit police to get away with use of excessive force on community members.
The leaders questioned why the incident had been reported as a road accident, despite witnesses who were in the vehicle revealing that the deceased was shot at close range by security officers.
“As the leaders from this county, we are saddened by the excesses of the police as they are killing and maiming our people. Yesterday we were here, there was another incident in Demajale and today, the same thing has happened,” Major (Rtd) Mohamed lamented.
“We suspect that the police units were involved because after the incident, all the factors that surround this occurrence do not add up. This young man just lost his life like that. We are past that stage in our country. In our community, we have come from being killed, maimed, butchered, tortured and raped and in the 21st century, we are not going to allow this to continue,” he added.
The MP called on the Inspector General of Police and the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) to take over the matter and ensure that those found culpable are brought to book and to obtain justice for the family of the deceased.
“We want justice for the family and the people of Garissa County. Let no one think that they will get away with this. We will not entertain these kinds of officers who are using excessive force to enforce the law,” he said.
However, according to Garissa County Police Commander Amos Ambasa, the deceased tried to turn back to escape when he found a security roadblock but got involved in an accident about 150 metres away.
Ambasa said that the deceased succumbed to the accident injuries, while two other passengers, young boys, sustained minor injuries. “Today at around midnight, it was reported by police officers who were on patrol along the Nunow–Modogashe road that there was a vehicle that, upon noticing them, made a U-turn and sped off. The officers decided to chase after the vehicle and reached the vehicle only to find it had been involved in an accident just about 150 metres from the roadblock,” Ambasa said.
“The driver succumbed to the injuries. There were also two boys in the vehicle around the age of 15, who were travelling with the driver. Traffic officers were informed and responded to the scene, and took the body of the deceased to the mortuary and towed the vehicle to the police station,” he added.
The county commander further revealed that the deceased was carrying clothing suspected to be illegally sourced from the neighbouring Somalia, which could have made him run off from the police.
He, however, said the case has been handed over to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and IPOA to establish if the chase by the officers might have led to his death.
The government pathologist is today expected to conduct a postmortem to establish the cause of death.
By Erick Kyalo
