BY SAM ALFAN.
Inspector-General of Police Joseph Boinnet has accused a human rights group of exaggerating the number of those who were killed during violent demonstrations by NASA supporters.
He says that only 11 lives were lost in the riots and not 36 as claimed by the rights lobby.
Police spokesperson George Kinoti, said that the figures were exaggerated, 11 people lost their lives before, during and after the two presidential elections.
On Wednesday the Independent Medico Legal Unit (IMLU) released a report detailing that more than 36 Kenyans have been killed by police between August 11 and when election results were announced.
The police boss termed as ‘sensational’, the reporting by the human rights body, and said that the figures were falsified with an aim of tainting the image of the National Police Service (NPS).
The organisation said police officers were deployed to 19 counties identified as potential hotspots for violence where they maimed and killed protestors unnecessarily.
The group also said there was evidence that the police responded to riots using indiscriminate force with no chance for other models of policing, especially in opposition strongholds.
IMLU further said they recorded grievous violations of human rights committed by the NPS during the elections period.
“Residents in many neighbourhoods in opposition strongholds hailed the local police for their restraint and blamed ‘strangers’ for the excessive use of force,” Mr Kiama said.
He said that there was a legitimate need to examine the command structure in situations where the local officer commanding station or the county commander receives extra or specialised officers to beef up capacity.
