Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir has accused police in Mombasa of harassing youth coming from the 8pm Isha prayers. [Photo: Abdulswamad Nassir/ facebook.com]
Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir and a human rights group have accused police in Mombasa of harassing youths during the ongoing Ramadhan period.
On Tuesday, Nassir and Haki Africa accused police of targeting youth coming from Isha prayers at 8pm especially in Old Town, Majengo, Bondeni, Floringi, Kongowea and Kisauni regions.Their remarks come after a video showing 22-year-old Suheil Ali being slapped by four armed police officers in Old Town on Sunday night went viral.Ali who as accompanied by Haki Africa programme officer Francis Auma, recorded a statement Tuesday at the Central police station over the incident."I was heading home from the Isha prayers when the four officers pounced on me just as I was about to enter into our compound. They slapped, kicked me and frog-marched me," Ali said as quoted by the Nation.He claimed the officers also extorted Sh10,000 from him.Auma said the police were taking advantage of the Ramadhan period to harass youth, noting that most of the victims especially in crime-prone regions are usually intercepted while coming from the mosque.Auma said officers from Inuka police station in Likoni and Nyali police station were notorious of the alleged abuses.Police are yet to comment on the matter.On his part, Nassir said police should refund the Sh10,000 they took from Ali. "It is not possible that all youth in Old Town are criminals," he said.The MP who spoke at the Mvita CDF office said he has raised the issue with President Uhuru Kenyatta both in public and in private."Whenever we raise our voices, the matter subsides. The cases go down. After a while, they come back," added the lawmaker."Police should identify themselves whenever they arrest someone. They do not do that. They come heavily armed against unarmed youths. They should go fight the people with guns like themselves," said Nassir.The MP was accompanied by Tononoka MCA aspirant Ali Shariff.Haki Africa executive director Hussein Khalid said in a statement the police swoops flout the constitution.