Lawyer Cliff Ombeta has called for the establishment of a law where police officers who arrest suspects without tangible evidence to charge them should be held individually responsible.
He says officers are abusing their powers by arbitrarily arresting and holding Kenyans in custody with no intention of charging them.
“If you arrest someone you take him to court, that’s what you are supposed to do. But if you arrest someone, keep him incommunicado and then release him the next day telling him we enda, what message are we sending across?” he posed.
Ombeta spoke on Monday outside the Milimani Law Courts after comedian Eric Omondi’s case was pushed to May.
Omondi was on March 1 arrested for the second time while distributing unga to Kenyans at City Stadium.
Police released him the following day, a week after they charged him with unlawful assembly for leading a protest along Parliament Road on February 21 against the cost of living.
The comic was arrested alongside 17 others.
Ombeta said it’s unbecoming for police officers to arrest suspects they have no intention of presenting before the court.
“This is why we need new laws whereby any officer who acts contrary to the law cannot always hide behind the police force and say that the AG, the DPP and everybody else shall protect them.
“He must be individually responsible for any act that is of that nature. So Eric loses 24 hours, how is he paid, how is he compensated? Ombeta asked.
He further protested the police’ refusal to grant the comedian and his co-accused a police bond when they were first arrested on February 21.
The lawyer said it’s the responsibility of the State through law enforcement agencies to protect the rights of all citizens at all times when speaking for or against the government.
Failure to do this, Ombeta said it’s the courts’ mandate to protect citizens from such omissions of the law by protecting them from further intimidation by law enforcers.
This was after the Court on Monday declined to issue such orders saying it has no jurisdiction to execute the matter.
“The Court rightfully says it has no jurisdiction, but then again, it must protect any person who has come to that court and has been released by that court on bond so that you don’t arrest somebody and threaten him we will go and cancel your bond,” he said.
Ombeta said police officers and the government should not be intolerant of people who say they are hungry because of the high cost of living.
He said police ought to not only know how the law operates but act within it at all times.
