It's a witch-hunt! Omari on the detention of cops in abduction case
Lawyer Danstan Omari has said the actions carried against the 15 police officers linked with the abduction of two Indians and a taxi driver is a witchhunt. https://shorturl.at/fuAW7
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00:00 We have indicated from the first day the SSU officers were arrested.
00:07 This is politics. It is witch hunt. It is an attack on the profession called the police.
00:15 No rule of procedure has been followed in handling the special police officers.
00:25 Every time they are treated as criminals, these are heroes of this country.
00:33 And I want to put, to notice the public that the manner in which the police officers, not only these ones, are being handled is going to be a national serious security issue.
00:46 Last, the other day you saw a cabinet minister trying to sack 67 police officers without any lawful authority.
00:58 I had to go to court to return the 67 police officers back to work.
01:03 These SSU officers, they got their justice before this court.
01:09 Remember, they were detained for 45 days.
01:13 They were released because the state had no case.
01:17 When they were charged, again they were detained for 21 days.
01:21 The court released them on cash bail.
01:23 They paid cash bail. That same cash bail has been cancelled by the High Court.
01:28 We have moved to the Court of Appeal to challenge the decision of the judge to deny our clients' bail.
01:38 And we are determined to present the police officers to the Supreme Court.
01:43 Because police officers are citizens of this country.
01:47 They cannot be discriminated, they cannot be harassed.
01:52 They also enjoy the principle that every accused person is innocent till proved guilty.
01:59 But the way the government is dealing with the police and all other police officers,
02:05 whenever there is a conflict of the law with the police,
02:09 it is as if the policemen and policewomen are already condemned.
02:14 They are already prisoners.
02:17 We will ensure that Article 27, which talks about that every citizen must be treated equally,
02:26 applies generally to the officers of the National Police Service Commission.
02:32 In my view, and I want it very clear, this is not an attack on only the 10 or 12 SSU officers here.
02:42 This is an attack that is targeting all the members of the National Police Service Commission.
02:50 And we hope we will address this so that they also enjoy the fruits of the Constitution of Kenya 2010.
02:59 Thank you.
03:00 [END]
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