Activists take part in the End Femicide in Kenya protest during the last day of the 16 days of activism against Violence on Women in Nairobi on December 10, 2024/FILE
He termed the violent scenes by police officers toward unarmed protesters as “unfortunate and unacceptable” on the part of the government.
“I think the events were pretty much unfortunate, and one happening on such an important day definitely shows the challenge we have around policing and looking at the people who were out there demonstrating,” the PS said.
Omollo acknowledged the importance of the demos to sensitise Kenyans against femicide. He said investigations are ongoing and those found culpable would face the law.
Omollo said they have had a series of concerns over the last few days on issues of femicide, and for him it was a question where “we say things just didn’t go right.
“It is not something we would want to say is acceptable. We have had conversations with the Inspector General of Police, and it is regrettable and something that should not have happened in the first place,” the PS said.
“It is something that we highly regret. We have the internal processes within the structure of police and what we expect is that anybody found culpable definitely has to be taken through the legal process and established protocols.”
He said although the actions by the police may have initially been perceived as correctional, their actions got out of hand.
“You can look at it from a point where as a parent you are trying to punish your child but in the process, out of that enthusiasm you end up going overboard and become highly uncontrollable,” the PS said.
Police bosses are under sharp criticism over the incident
