Two remandees who were in the cell with the victim were released.
A family in Sigor, West Pokot County, is demanding answers over the death of their relative in a cell at Sigor Police Station in unclear circumstances.
Isaac Oudo, 33, died in the police cell on Wednesday in an incident that has put the police at the station on the spot.
Mr Oudo was arrested on Tuesday over allegations of breaking a television at the police canteen.
The police explanation that Oudo committed suicide by hanging himself using a string of his inner pants angered residents who staged demonstrations demanding accountability on the issue.
Pokot Central Police Commandant Nelson Omwenga claimed that Oudo committed suicide inside the cell.
“The man came to watch football. He was alone in the cell and he may have used a string of his inner pants to kill himself,” he claimed, asking residents not to take the law into their hands.
He said Oudo was arrested for creating a disturbance while at the police canteen.
Tension was high on Thursday as locals staged a demonstration in Sigor Town demanding to know what transpired.
Residents engaged police in running battles as rowdy youths marched to the police station. Officers threw teargas after they were overwhelmed by the crowd.
Abraham Korir, Oudo’s brother, alleges that he was killed by the police officers.
“We are saddened by the death of our brother. We can’t imagine that someone can go to a cell and die without a clear explanation,” he said.
“I saw the body of my brother hanging on a string inside the cell. The officer on duty told me that he hanged himself using his belt. How many belts did he have? I asked the police who hanged him with a string,” he said.
Korir said he went to the police station on Wednesday evening and saw a belt at the reception and shoes belonging to his late brother near the reception and could not understand police’s theory.
He said the family was not allowed to accompany the body to the morgue.
“The police went alone and we suspect that there was something sinister. We thought a police cell is a safe place,” he said.
The police commandant said investigations are ongoing to establish the truth.
“Residents disagreed with me on the explanation and started hurling stones at us. We were overwhelmed and we called for backup. Residents didn’t want the body to be taken away but we managed to take the body to the morgue,” said Mr Omwenga.
We know it was police
Sigor MP Peter Lochakapong who went to the police station to calm the situation accused police of not reporting the matter on time.
“We are wondering what caused the death. We understand that an arrested person does not enter a police cell with shoes, shoelaces, belts, or ropes so that they don’t endanger their lives. The police telling us the man hanged himself with shoelaces is a lie. We cannot believe that and we know that he was killed by the police,” the MP said.
Mr Lochakapong said that Oudo was a bit drunk at the time of his arrest.
“Instead of telling him to go home, he was put in custody. He was at the police mess and was taken to a cell where he stayed the whole day and in the evening, they reported that he was dead. We want clear information from the OCPD, deputy OCPD, and OCS and officers on duty should explain this,” the MP said.
He spoke as Sigor residents demanded justice and action taken against the perpetrators.
“We need the killers taken to court and jailed. We need the Independent Police Oversight Authority (Ipoa) to intervene and investigate this death. The family needs answers and police need to be professional,” the MP said, demanding that the bar at the police station be shut down.
Weiwei Ward Representative David Moiben condemned the incident, saying the suspected police should be transferred.
“How can you die inside a cell? All security agencies need to intervene,” he said, even as he called on residents to calm down.
A local, Kelvin Mweutich, claimed two other young men who were in the cell with Oudo were released to conceal the truth.
“Police have become a nuisance in West Pokot. People take liquor at the police canteen. How do you sell beer at the police station day and night?” he posed.
“Did the police come to do business or work? The television at the police canteen has led our children astray,” he said, demanding a postmortem on the Oudo.
Oudo’s body is preserved at Kapenguria County Referral Hospital morgue awaiting postmortem.
