Editor's Review

He warned that the trend would have negative effects, as it made other Kenyans feel they were not part of the country.

Garissa Senator Abdul Haji has lamented over preferential treatment of some Kenyans in cases of police brutality and extrajudicial killings.

Speaking during the special sitting on the hearing on the murder of Albert Ojwang on Wednesday, June 11, Haji wondered why similar initiatives, such as special sittings, were not being taken when other Kenyans die.

While maintaining that it was important to investigate the death of Ojwang, he wondered why Senators did not take similar action when other motions regarding the deaths of other Kenyans were tabled before the house.

"In no way am I trying to disrespect this very sitting today, but I would love to see some level of fairness in this country. I would like to see that the case of any Kenyan from anywhere is important," he expressed.

File image of Senators during a past special sitting.

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For instance, he cited a case that was tabled in the Senate where 40 people from Turkana were reported to have been killed.

"Last week, the Senator of Turkana stood on the floor of this House with a statement enquiring about the death of 40 fishermen who were killed and left in the lake, and not a single senator requested a special sitting.

"Not even this country demanded answers about the death of those individuals... It begs the question: are there some Kenyans who are more important than others?" Haji posed.

Additionally, he also lamented over pending investigations into mysterious deaths that were recorded in his county.

He warned that the trend would be negative as it makes other Kenyans feel that they are not part of the country. Therefore, he called on the Senate to also have special sittings for other deaths that are brought to their attention.

"I would like to beg this House: I have a case of six youths in Garissa who were brutally murdered on the road, and to this day, we do not know who killed them," he remarked.

"We have not heard from the human rights organizations, not the media houses, not even the civil societies, none have pursued justice for them. If this continues, some senators will feel disconnected from the rest of the country."

Regarding Ojwang's case, the Senator demanded that the police detail whether the deceased was alive when he was taken from the Central Police Station to Mbagathi Hospital.

He also wondered why the police were arresting people and transferring them to other locations.

"I would also like to ask IPOA: how many of our police stations have CCTV cameras, and how many of those are installed within the cells? Were the CCTV cameras working even before IPOA concluded they had been interfered with?" he posed.