Activist Boniface Mwangi was on Friday, October 8, 2021, roughed up by officers allegedly from the General Service Unit (GSU).
Taking to his Twitter page, Mwangi narrated that he had gone to his usual barbershop, when people in the company of police officers walked in and identified themselves as officers from the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).
In the video seen by Nairobileo.co.ke, the activist could be heard asking the persons in civilian clothes for their KRA Identification cards but they failed to produce them.
"I was at my barbershop when these young men walked in, with a GSU officer & arrested the receptionist. We asked them to identify themselves, they said they were from KRA but they didn’t have IDs. We asked them to call someone who had an ID," Mwangi narrated.
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According to the activist, it turns out the men without IDs were operating under the command of a woman allegedly from the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS).
In the video, when asked for an ID, she produced a card that appeared to indicate she is an employee of the Nairobi City County.
"It’s Friday and they’re picking people from shops, beating them, and taking them to a lorry for not having “branding licenses"," Mwangi said.
The lady could be heard repeatedly questioning the activist why he was taking a video of them. She was backed by one of the officers, who kept signaling Mwangi to put the phone away.
Three officers then approached him in an attempt to confiscate his phone.
In footage shared, apparently from a CCTV camera from the building, the three officers can be seen chasing Mwangi, before he trips and falls.
They then caught up with him and beat him up.
"Because l recorded them, the GSU officers wanted to take my phone, I refused and in my attempt to ran away, I fell. They caught up with me, and beat me up. Even after the beating l didn’t hand over my phone," he said.
Mwangi was injured on his leg in the process.
"Because we raised our voices, not single person was arrested in the entire Pension Towers building. l was slightly injured. The harassment and the brutalization of innocent citizens going about their business was captured on the building’s CCTV," he stated.
The activist called upon the Inspector General of Police, the National Police Service (NPS), the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA), and Interior CS Fred Matiang'i to ensure justice and curb harassment of the public by police officers.
