No arrests yet on brutal act by rogue police in Nandi incidence

Video shows police assaulting men playing pool in Nandi Hills. [UGC]

No arrests have been made 24 hours after Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen ordered that rogue police officers who attacked residents of Nandi Hills last week be apprehended and charged.

“The actions of the police is inhuman and unconstitutional. The Inspector General and IPOA have taken up the issue and the officers shall be arrested, charged and sacked,” said Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen.

“I am very upset by the actions of a few police officers. Let me be clear—their behaviour does not stand for what the National Police Service is about. We are here to serve the public with respect and honesty. Once the investigations are finished, we will act quickly and firmly. Those responsible will face consequences,” said Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja, who described the incident as galling. That was on Friday.

Up to yesterday, no arrests had been made.

The Inspector General of Police told the Sunday Standard that as of Saturday, officers from National Police Service Internal Affairs Unit had already sent investigators to Nandi Hills and progress was being made.

 “We are waiting for the Internal Affairs Unit to complete the investigations in three days’ time as I had instructed,” said the IG Kanja. “Already the internal affairs unit has started the investigations and officers are on the ground picking up bits and pieces,” said the IG. Rogue police had last Friday night invaded Nandi Hills town and randomly beat up youth, women and business owners as well as stealing from them. The brutal act received a widespread condemnation from human rights groups as well as Kenyans online who demanded action be taken on the rogue officers.

Human Rights lawyer Abel Nabutola says the police have to know Kenyans are watching lest they think press statements condemning the acts is enough.

“The media as well as other stakeholders have to keep sustained pressure until the culprits are brought to book. If we stops highlighting this issue, the matter, like many other matters of police brutality, will be swept under the carpet and the officers involved in the barbaric act will go free, only to be redeployed to new areas where they will continue with their barbaric acts,” says Nabutola.

He says that for the longest time, police officers stationed in rural areas have been a law unto themselves, treating citizens like walking ATMs, harassing, extorting and beating them for no reason.

In a press statement signed by chairperson Ahmed Issack Hassan, the authority said preliminary findings confirmed the incident occurred on the stated date within Nandi Hills town, affecting several businesses.

Nandi Hills MP Bernard Kitur said: “Those who were attacked were not criminals. They were young people enjoying their leisure. The officers who did this were inhuman. They beat, they stole, and they vanished. This is the behaviour of a criminal gang, not the police service we know.”

“The Nandi Hills story came to the limelight because of CCTV footage. I can assure you in rural areas, police reign with terror and impunity and villagers just accept and take no action. In cities the police are careful because many people are vocal and there is a chance that somebody somewhere will always record them misbehaving,” adds Nabutola.

Released last month, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) report dubbed ‘The State of Human Rights in Kenya’ revealed extra-judicial killings, police brutality, abductions, enforced disappearances, shrinking media and civic freedoms among abuses mainly perpetrated by the state.

The report had it that cases of police officers using excessive force on the public have been on the rise and when complaints are made, all security agencies report is that investigations are “still going on”.

Ironically, there have been incidents where rogue police officers end up getting promoted to higher levels, disregarding the notion of justice.

A recent report by the Independent Medico Legal Unit (IMLI) revealed that at least 97 people had been killed in 2025 through extra-judicial executions with forensic statistics showing several Kenyans were shot from behind -meaning they didn’t pose any threat to the police.