Mistaken identity: Meru officers killing innocent people
There are increasing cases of innocent bystanders being hit by stray police bullets in Meru County, the Nation has established.
On Sunday, a farmer was shot in the stomach by an officer who mistook him for a suspect he was pursuing at Ciothirai village in Imenti North.
Mr Jonah Kinoti was visiting a neighbour when the officer from Giaki police station confronted him, leading to a scuffle that resulted in the shooting.
Imenti North Sub-county police boss Alexander Makau said they were investigating the incident while the victim was recuperating at the Meru Level Five hospital.
Local chief Saverio Kirimi said the officer had gone to arrest a man who had been involved in a “quarrel with his sister”.
“The officer had gone to arrest a man who had a row with his sister. He thought Jonah was the suspect. It was a case of mistaken identity,” he said.
Ms Joy Kairuthi, who witnessed the shooting, said the officer confronted Mr Kinoti and after a short exchange, handcuffed and then shot him in the stomach at close range.
He then called his colleagues, who assisted him in cleaning up the scene.
“He was visiting our home when the officer confronted him. After handcuffing him, he pushed him to the ground and shot him. It happened so fast,” she recounted.
Mr Makau and the local Directorate of Criminal Investigations boss Jamlick Kithinji visited the scene to calm the protesters.
Mr Makau said initial observation indicated that the victim had not suffered internal organ damage, adding that action would be taken against the officer.
The shooting comes against a backdrop of shooting incidents in alleged cases of mistaken identity.
Two weeks ago, a boda boda rider died at Mutuati town in Igembe North after being hit by a bullet following a scuffle between a different rider and a policeman.
A post-mortem indicated that Mr Patrick Koome had a bullet lodged in his head. His cousin, Pastor Shadrack Ntoitha, said Koome was about 50 metres away from the point where the shot was fired.
An officer based at Kamweline police station has since been arrested in connection with the death, but is yet to be charged.
Dr Njau Mungai, a pathologist working with Independent Medico Legal Unit, said the bullet penetrated the forehead and was stuck at the crown.
Elsewhere, a police officer who was attached to Meru Deputy Governor Titus Ntuchiu’s rural home is facing charges after he allegedly chased a boda boda rider for over a kilometre and shot him dead for trespass.
Police constable Peter Kinoti has denied killing Morris Mutugi alias Kimba and the matter is ongoing at the Meru High Court.
Mr Kinoti is accused of shooting Mutugi in the head after he was called to quell a row with workers in Kimachia-Chung’ari village, Tigania West.
The farm where the workers were harvesting maize is next to the deceased’s home, and is situated about a kilometre away from Mr Ntuchiu’s residence, where the officer was assigned to guard.
Also in court is a matter in which an officer was accused of shooting to death a Meru University student leader three years ago.
Former police constable Leaky Maina has denied killing Evans Njoroge at point-blank range during riots at the institution. BY DAILY NATION
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