NAKURU OCPD TAKEN TO TASK OVER KILLING DURING POLICE VETTING

A senior police officer was put on the spot yesterday over a series of extrajudicial killings in Nakuru county.

Nakuru police boss Bernard Kioko was asked to explain why a special unit of detectives he had assembled to tackle spiralling crime had resorted to executing suspected robbers instead of arresting them.

“We had identified about 20 gangs that were terrorising residents in the region and kept a catalogue that the unit used in identifying them. We had their pictures taken by our undercover officers who were part of the gang and we used the pictures to identify them,” Kioko said.

He appeared before the National Police Service Commission in the ongoing vetting of South Rift senior police officers in Nakuru town.

Kioko said they had no option but to shoot and kill the robbers who were armed because they refused to surrender.

Lawyer David Mong’eri, who represented the Law Society of Kenya in the panel, put Kioko to task over the killings.

NPSC chair Johnston Kavuludi put Kioko on the spot over the suspension of four CID officers without carrying out thorough investigations.

The four were accused of stealing Sh400,000 from a Nakuru businesswoman

Kioko said he was acting under the instruction of the CID commandant.

“The CID commandant called and directed me to immediately suspend the officers, pending investigations,” he said.

The High Court in Nakuru, however, overturned the decision, saying Kioko had no powers to suspend the officers.

The officer was stood down pending further inquiries into other serious allegations touching on his integrity and will be called for further vetting.

The NPSC has been in the Rift Valley headquarters for one week to vet 120 officers of the ranks of senior superintendent of police and superintendent of police.

The vetting ends today.