On Monday, the country witnessed brutality by the members of the police against Cord supporters who were demonstrating to have IEBC commissioners out of office.
The civil society organisations have condemned the police ferocity terming it unconstitutional and torturous to members of the public who have the right to demonstrate. The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) has also criticised the manner in which the police tried to control the Cord demonstrators. IPOA argued that police duty is to protect the public contrary to what was witnessed on Monday.
The Police Service has launched investigations into the violence that rocked Cord demonstrations in Nairobi and Kisumu. National police spokesperson, George Kinoti said that any officer found culpable will face punitive measures.
In a statement sent to the newsrooms, the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) said that police need to be trained on how to efficiently and safely extract offenders from lawful protests without violating their rights and those of others. LSK also said that officers who have violated the rights of citizens by their brutality must face disciplinary processes.
Nonetheless, all have urged members of the public to hold demos responsibly. They also urged the Cord coalition to use the right channel to have IEBC commissioners removed from office.