Activists demand IPOA probe into mysterious death at Mombasa police station
Hussein said that deaths under police custody have increased across the country and that police officers must be held accountable for their actions.
Human rights activists are piling pressure on the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) to swiftly act following the mysterious death of a man at the Mombasa Central Police Station.
Led by Vocal Africa Executive Director Hussein Khalid, the activists who spoke on Saturday read foul play in the death of Simon Warui, noting that it is only an independent investigation that can truly reveal what happened.
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"I have personally been held several times inside the cells of Mombasa Central Police Station. I do not see any possibility that the deceased could have caused his own death. This is the reason why we're demanding a quick and independent investigation," said Hussein.
Hussein said that deaths under police custody have increased across the country and that police officers must be held accountable for their actions.
"Kenyans must not normalise reports of arrested persons dying in police cells. The number of cases being reported is increasingly worrying," added Hussein.
Warui went missing in Nairobi last Sunday, only to be discovered dead inside Central Police Station in Mombasa.
According to a post-mortem conducted at the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital, 26-year-old Warui died from cardiorespiratory collapse caused by a fracture dislocation of the neck consistent with a fall from a height.
The report further revealed ligature marks measuring 3mm, a 5cm irregular scalp wound, dislocation of the C7–T1 vertebra, spinal haemorrhage and other injuries.
Warui, a father of a three-year-old child, had been reported missing from his Umoja estate home in Nairobi on September 14. His family was notified of his death days later.
The activists are now planning to stage demonstrations across Mombasa County to pressure the National Police Service (NPS) to explain the circumstances surrounding Warui's death.
Additionally, the activists are also contemplating moving to court to compel IPOA to investigate and to seek the immediate arrest of officers attached to Central Police Station.
Warui's case adds to the growing number of Kenyans losing their lives in mysterious circumstances under the custody of the police.
Police have not issued a statement on the circumstances under which Warui was transferred from Nairobi to Mombasa and his eventual death.
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