Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka has joined a long list of individuals and organizations in condemning Thursday’s incident in which doctors’ union boss Davji Atellah was hit by a teargas canister and injured on the head.
Kalonzo on Friday visited Atellah at the Nairobi Hospital where he is recovering to comfort him following the tragic incident.
He was hit on the head with a teargas canister as he led a peaceful procession of doctors outside the Ministry of Health headquarters to protest the delayed hiring of medical interns.
Images shared online showed Atellah with a bloodied face and clothes following the incident.
Kalonzo said stern action should be taken against officers who will be found to have employed excessive and unnecessary force.
“It is not enough for IPOA “to encourage members of the National Police Service (NPS) to discharge their mandate professionally and responsibly” as stated in a statement last evening,” Kalonzo said.
“IPOA must not only identify the officers involved but also hold them accountable. The events of yesterday will become the new normal if these acts of police lawlessness go unpunished,” he added.
The Wiper leader said Atellah and his group were within their constitutional right to protest against the delayed posting of medical interns and other pressing issues facing the health sector.
He said Article 37 of our Constitution guarantees everyone the freedom to peacefully demonstrate, picket, and deliver petitions to elected officials.
“The fact that the KMPDU leadership followed all legal obligations by notifying the authorities ahead of time and in accordance with applicable constitutional and legislative regulations adds to the alarming nature of this conduct," he said.
He drew parallels between the police action against the medical practitioners and what befell protesters during the opposition’s nationwide anti-government protests that left several dead.
“This tragedy brings to mind the 75 Kenyans who lost their lives between March and July last year during the nonviolent maandamano rallies over the cost of living.”
Kalonzo said brutality of the same magnitude was meted out on Atellah leaving him with “a shattered skull, internal bleeding and 12 stitches in his head as a result of the police force’s purposeful deployment of a teargas canister against him yesterday”.
He said the Wiper party is in support of the planned total shutdown of service provision by the entire medical fraternity starting Friday midnight to protest the assault on Attellah.
“It is their constitutional right and we encourage them to do so in a nonviolent manner.”
The Wiper leader spoke on the same day IPOA said it had opened an inquiry into the incident.
Meanwhile, ITUC-Africa also issued a statement denouncing the police action against the medical practitioners in a peaceful demonstration.
Secretary General Joel Odigie said the incident contravenes the International Labour Organization Convention on freedom of association and undermines the right to strive for collective bargaining as outlined by various international agreements.
“The shooting of Dr Atellah who was leading a peaceful procession stands in direct contradiction of these principles, highlighting the urgent need for accountability and respect for basic human rights. The shooting is a reckless and mindless provocation and we strongly condemn it.”