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DCI pledges action against looters in Nairobi CBD protests

Nairobians view the aftermath of anti-tax protests on Mfangano Street on June 26, 2024. (Photo: Hafsa Hassan/EV)

By Abdirahman Khalif | Monday, July 1, 2024

The DCI vowed to take action against those individuals, noting that while young people, the majority of them Gen Zs, exercised their democratic rights, criminals took advantage of the situation to loot businesses.

The DCI's Imaging and Acoustic Unit at the National Forensic Laboratory has retrieved CCTV footage showing individuals involved in theft in the Nairobi city centre during last week's street protests.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations vowed to take action against those individuals, noting that while young people, the majority of them Gen Zs, exercised their democratic rights, criminals took advantage of the situation to loot businesses.

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The thieves, who appeared well-organised, targeted businesses including boutiques, electronics shops, and supermarkets, causing significant losses.

In a statement on X, the DCI assured the public that it would hold all those involved in the crimes accountable.

"As a criminal investigative agency, it squarely falls within the mandate of the DCI to investigate and bring to book any persons involved in such outright criminality, which not only robbed numerous Kenyans of their means of livelihood but also worked towards compromising an otherwise crucial constitutional right."

Several suspects were arraigned on Monday.

When the Kenyan youths (Gen Z) organized nationwide peaceful protests to exercise their democratic right rejecting the proposed 2024/2025 Finance Bill, other groups with criminal minds took advantage of the situation and devised schemes to cause harm and economically frustrate… pic.twitter.com/z7W0i74YkB
— DCI KENYA (@DCI_Kenya) July 1, 2024

The DCI warned that more criminals were still at large, hence a threat to innocent Kenyans and their livelihoods.

"Whereas some have already been arrested and arraigned in various courts today, more are still out there on the streets waiting for other opportune times to strike again, causing more damage and risking the lives of innocent citizens caught up in the course of quelling the crimes."

The DCI stressed that the looters do not represent Kenyans's values hence the need for their removal from society.

"We can flush them [out] because they do not share the principles that define what we stand for, and more so for the sake of those who did not deserve to lose their only means of livelihood in this manner," the statement said.

Further, the DCI asked the public to provide any helpful information as investigations continue.