Questions emerge on death of police officer in Kisumu

Thursday, 6th April 2023

The death of a police officer in Kisumu, initially alleged by the police service to have been caused by protesters, has come under question after it emerged that he may have been run over by a police vehicle.

The police initially gave two accounts of what had transpired in the period ahead of Corporal Ben Oduor’s demise.

In the first report, the police commander in Kisumu said his officer was overwhelmed by protesters who descended on him with kicks and blows.

Nyanza Regional Police Commander at the time, Noah Mwivanda, later said the corporal died after protesters hit him on the chest with a stone propelled using a catapult during the exchanges between police and protesters in March demonstrations.

A report by NTV however said citing sources that Oduor was run over by a police car they were using, leading to his death.

The police were at the time retreating.

An autopsy report conducted to ascertain the cause of Oduor’s death revealed that he was not hit on the chest at all. He however had a broken hip and shattered legs, consistent with the report that a car has run him over.

The police, adamant that their colleague had been killed by protesters, said two men had been arrested and were set to be arraigned in court for the murder of Corporal Oduor.

The report by NTV pointed out confusing events that occurred between Tuesday and Wednesday, including the sudden change of heart by Oduor’s family to give media interviews and the sudden recalling of Mwivanda to Nairobi. The developments seem to point to action behind the scenes to cover up the true reason for Oduor’s death.