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IG Kanja fingers six senior officers in Nandi Hills police assault caught on video
A screengrab of the viral video shows armed police officers beating up a group of youth inside a pool hall in Nandi Hills.
Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja has ordered disciplinary action against six police officers over police assault caught on video in a Nandi Hills pool table venue.
Mr Kanja said the focus on local commanders is to ensure they are solely responsible for what happens within their jurisdictions.
“The action deliberately focuses on local commanders to ensure they are held fully accountable for all conduct within their jurisdictions. There will be no tolerance for such misconduct,” said Muchiri Nyaga, the National Police Service Spokesperson, on behalf of IG Kanja.
Internal administrative action—which Mr Muchiri did not specify—will be taken against the Sub-County Police Commander (OCPD) for Tinderet, the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) for Songhor and the counterpart for Nandi Hills.
Others are the Officer in Charge of the Rapid Deployment Unit (RDU) Songhor Camp, the Officer in Charge of the General Service Unit (GSU) Songhor, and the Officer in Charge of the Anti-Stock Theft Unit (ASTU) Songhor Camp.
“The IG reiterates to every officer that they bear a solemn duty as custodians of public safety, security and property. This is an integral and cardinal obligation that must be discharged with professionalism and responsibility at all times,” added the statement by Mr Nyaga.
The National Police Service expressed its regret to the victims and affirmed its commitment to ensuring that all illegal acts are dealt with firmly and in accordance with the law.
“The recommendations will pave the way for action against officers as per National Police Service procedures,” Nandi County police boss Samuel Mukuusi said on phone.
Former Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) Chairperson Ahmed Issack Hassan (who was appointed Court of Appeal judge last week) had following the incident said the authority is evaluating witness accounts to enable it to make recommendations on how to deal with the matter.
“The authority has visited and documented the incident scene, seized and secured the DVR for forensic analysis,” said Mr Hassan then.
The authority dispatched a team of rapid investigators two weeks ago to conduct inquiries and assess the conduct of the officers involved in the brutality.
“We have recorded statements from witnesses and police officers and obtained relevant police documents,” disclosed Mr Hassan, adding that they have identified vehicles suspected to have been involved in the operation.
He said the authority has ensured that all victims received medical attention and completed P3 forms.
The assaulted youths had decried the slow pace of investigations into the assault incident that occurred two weeks ago, in which 10 uniformed police officers in full combat gear, armed with rifles and batons, were involved.
“Justice delayed is justice denied, and all those implicated in the crime must be made to face the law,” said Victor Kiprono Kogo, who sustained injuries following the assault by police officers attached to the Rapid Deployment Unit (RDU) in Tinderet Sub-county.
According to the victims’ lawyer, Kibet Kisorio, the 15 youths recorded statements with police in Nandi Hills and obtained P3 forms after receiving treatment at various health facilities following the January 10 police assault.
“Apart from the victims recording statements after obtaining P3 forms, no other action has taken place,” Mr Kisorio said on phone while demanding justice for the assaulted youths.
In the video that went viral, about 10 uniformed police officers armed with rifles and batons are captured storming a pool hall at around 11.51pm and ordering the youths to lie down before subjecting them to a thorough beating.
In the CCTV footage, the officers are seen using batons and pool sticks to assault the youths, and no amount of pleas for leniency stopped them from continuing with the beatings.
The youths were asked to produce their national identity cards and explain why they were playing pool late at night as the rowdy officers took turns beating them for about 10 minutes.
“Lie down and bite your national identification card,” one of the charged officers is heard ordering as they battered the youths in the footage captured on January 10, 2026.
The officers left the hall after about 10 minutes, leaving the youths confused about whether to leave or remain inside the pool hall due to security fears.
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