Slain Embu brothers to be laid to rest on Friday, new officers take over

The two brothers who died at the hands of police will be buried on Friday at their home in Kithangari, Embu County.

Felix Nthiga, the family spokesperson, said burial preparations were underway. “We have agreed with the church to have the burial on Friday,” Nthiga said.

At the home, workers were busy putting up tents where mourners will sit. Minor repairs, repainting the gates and sprucing up other areas in the compound.

The death of Benson Njiru, 22, and Emmanuel Mutura, 19, sparked protests in Kianjokoma town.

The two day’s protest left one person dead and another injured when police engaged rioters.

The chaos forced the deputy inspector general of police Edward Mbugua to visit the area.

Mbugua ordered Embu North Sub-county police Commander Emily Ngaruiya and OCS Manyatta Police station to be redeployed to Eastern Regional Police headquarters, pending investigations.

Senior Superintendent of Police Abdullahi Adan Alio took over on Sunday morning as the new Embu North Sub-County Police commander. Adan worked as the staffing and operations officer at the Eastern Regional Police headquarters in Embu.

Acting Embu County Police Commander Kimani Mitugo said a new OCS had also been deployed to Manyatta police station. “The new officers will be unveiled on Monday.” 

Kenya Counsellors and Psychological Association have called for the implementation of the policy on the mental health awareness and sensitisation of police officers.

They noted that officers had also been affected by the distress.

James Mutitu said there was a framework created but had never been implemented.

The framework was to help cater for the increased mental health cases in the service.

“The ratio of people with psychological disorders seems to have increased,” said Mutitu.

He urged the government to honour the Abuja declaration, which guides the government to allocate 15 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product to health issues, which have a trickle-down effect.

Mutitu led a team of counsellors to condole with the family. Dr Jane Muigai, a counsellor at Chuka University, said many police officers engage in drug and substance abuse which affects decision making.