A man who spearheaded the recovery of bodies from a dam in Kware, Nairobi, now fears for his life after a brawl on Wednesday morning that attracted the attention of locals who prevented his arrest by police.
Mr Steven Nyongesa, alias Pastor wa Vijana, who works as a boda boda rider, had parked his motorcycle and was waiting for customers when two men approached him and asked him to take them to the nearest entertainment venue.
Mr Nyongesa, who is also a gospel musician, said before they could leave, they started threatening him, saying they would fight him.
“I wondered what my mistake was, because the help that they wanted I had already sought. They started assaulting me,” he said.
The man said he managed to overpower the two, who then quickly left on a motorcycle and headed towards Kware Police Station.
According to him, he thought the duo had left, but a few moments later they reappeared accompanied by two police officers attached to Kware Police Station.
The officers wanted to arrest him, claiming that he had assaulted the two men.
As an argument ensued, Mr Nyongesa said the two men continued to assault him while the police watched and did nothing.
The 36-year-old said he had had a bad relationship with the police, especially after the Kware incident which exposed police officers in the area.
“The officers did nothing to stop the men from assaulting me as they watched. I am lucky that people stopped them and demanded that the police leave the place immediately,” he said.
Mr Nyongesa said the officers forcibly took his mobile phone, leaving him wondering what interest they had in the device.
“I even asked the police officers why they would arrest me yet they know so well the role I play in this society,” he said.
He said he has been preaching the gospel in the area and has also sung a number of gospel songs about the lives of the youth and society, especially in Mukuru Kwa Njenga.
The musician was then escorted by locals to where he lives and parked his motorcycle before heading to the Mukuru Kwa Njenga Justice Centre.
This is not the first time that Mr Nyongesa has experienced such an ordeal. In July, he was among those who discovered bodies at the Kware Dam and decided to lead a recovery exercise.
At the time, he informed the media of the number of bodies they had recovered from the dam.
One morning he managed to retrieve a leg from the dam, which angered the locals, who began a demonstration claiming that the vast Mukuru Kwa Njenga was no longer safe for them.
This came just after Mr Nyongesa had addressed the media, questioning why people were still being killed and their bodies dumped in the Kware dam.
As the demonstrations continued, police officers arrested Mr Nyongesa and detained him at Kware Police Station.
His arrest sparked more anger among the locals, who stepped up their demonstrations.
Mr Nyongesa said the officers threatened him and that the way he carried the recovered leg made them look incompetent.
“The state should stop profiling, intimidating and trailing volunteers who helped in retrieving the bodies at Kware. The government failed to do their work that is why the volunteers did it for the love of our country,” the organisation said in a statement.
The Nation contacted Mr Wesley Kimeto, the Embakasi South Sub-County Commander, who said he had not been informed of the incident but would look into it.
