Kirinyaga residents decry police conduct after wrongful arrest caught on video

The incident involved two police officers attached to Kutus Police Station, who arrested Elsenhowen Waweru instead of the intended suspect, identified as Daniel Muriuki. According to the family, the officers failed to properly identify their suspect before effecting the arrest.

Tensions escalated when villagers confronted the officers, led by Waweru’s 70-year-old mother, Regina Muthoni, who questioned the legality of the arrest and demanded an explanation. In the process, Waweru’s brother, Cyrus Murage, was also handcuffed after attempting to intervene.

A video circulating online shows Muthoni confronting the officers and accusing them of harassing her sons, at one point questioning whether they had been paid to carry out the arrest.

After his release, Murage accused the officers of using unlawful force and said they had relied on misleading information allegedly provided by village elders. He maintained that the family was within its rights to resist what they described as an unjust and procedurally flawed arrest.

“We know the law, and even our mother could see that this was wrong. That’s why she stood up for us,” Murage said.

The incident has renewed debate in the area over police professionalism, arrest procedures, and the use of force, with residents calling for investigations into the officers’ conduct. Authorities are yet to issue an official statement on the matter.