Narok Mother Seeks Justice After Teenage Son Allegedly Beaten in Police Custody.
The incident has once more brought the national discourse on police accountability and safeguarding children in custody back into the spotlight.
Naroosura residents have responded with outrage, calling on the authorities to bring justice in a hurry.
By Ruth Sang
A Narok County household is clamoring for justice after a 17-year-old boy was reportedly beaten by a police officer while in custody at the Naroosura Police Station. The teenager, whose identity has not been released since he is a minor, is currently under treatment at the Narok County Referral Hospital and is described as being stable but fragile.
He was, according to early reports, apprehended last August over charges of theft of tractor spares in Naroosura. He was after detention held for weeks before he was presented to a court last week to answer fresh charges of burglary and theft of KSh 34,000.
But according to sources, when the boy was returned to court, officers refused to place him back in the station cells because of the wounds he bore openly, allegedly from brutal physical abuse while under custody. It is at this point that his deteriorated condition was brought to the fore before the court and his family.
The teenager’s mother, Grace Takona, has also come forward since, expressing her heartbreak over the ordeal of her son. She accused police officers at the station of mistreating her son and wanted those involved to face justice. “My son was okay when he was arrested. I just want justice for him. No child should be treated this way,” she wept outside the hospital.
The incident has provoked widespread anger, prompting the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) to launch a formal investigation into the incident. IPOA officials have made sure that they are gathering evidence and conducting interviews with witnesses in an effort to establish what occurred to the child while in police custody.
The incident has also been denounced by human rights groups, calling for greater police agency accountability. They argue that the alleged assault indicates long-standing problems in enforcing the rights of suspects, especially children, in custody by the police.
Naroosura residents have responded with outrage, calling on the authorities to bring justice in a hurry. They have also called for reform to ensure police brutality is avoided in the future.
Since the IPOA investigation continues, the teen’s family hopes for an open process that will bring the perpetrators to justice and dissuade another child from being treated so cruelly by police officers. The incident has once more brought the national discourse on police accountability and safeguarding children in custody back into the spotlight.
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