Nairobi Woman Rep. Esther Passaris has trooped to the defense of police officers seen in a viral video leaving a looted shop with laptops during Tuesday’s chaotic protests in Nairobi’s Central Business District.
The clip, which has stirred public outrage online with Kenyans suggesting that they too were also looting, shows uniformed officers loading laptops into a police vehicle amidst unrest sparked by protests in honour of the late teacher Albert Ojwang’.
However, in a sharp rebuke to those claiming the officers were stealing the gadgets, Passaris claimed the video had been taken out of context and the officers were, in fact, recovering stolen goods.
“I have just spoken to the Regional Police Commandant in Nairobi, Mr Seda. The laptops looted from the electronics shop were recovered and are now safely in police custody,” said Passaris in a statement posted Wednesday morning.
“Nation Media, your headline saying ‘police leave with laptops’ is misleading. The right word is ‘recovered’, not ‘leave’,” she added.
Her remarks come amid mounting scrutiny of law enforcement conduct during the demonstrations, which turned violent after goons infiltrated peaceful protesters and began looting businesses and harassing civilians.
Armed with clubs and knives, the rogue elements reportedly attacked passersby, snatched handbags and phones, and broke into shops. Despite the chaos, footage showed police appearing to act with restraint towards the thugs—raising suspicions about a possible alliance.
Opposition leader Kalonzo Musyoka did not mince his words, suggesting that the criminal gangs were being protected by authorities. “What we saw was unacceptable. The police ignored armed gangs while turning on peaceful demonstrators,” he said during a press briefing.
In a separate but equally shocking incident, a hawker selling face masks on Mondlane Street was shot at close range by a police officer, captured in footage that quickly went viral. The video shows one officer slapping the hawker while another strikes him with the butt of his gun before the shooting.
Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja later confirmed that the officer involved had been arrested and would be arraigned. “We do not condone this kind of brutality. The officer has been taken into custody and will face the law,” he said.
