Mike Mbuvi Sonko, a former governor of Nairobi, offered a prize of Ksh400,000 to any officers who would kill the gang members responsible for gouging out the eyes of a three-year-old boy in Kisii.
Sonko also made a Ksh200,000 reward offer to any member of the public who provided police with leads and helped them find the gang.
The police officer who kills a member of this infamous gang will receive Ksh400,000, Sonko said. “I have been deeply pained by this unfortunate tragedy,” Sonko said.
On Saturday, December 17, the former governor reiterated on his social media accounts that he would stand up for the cops if the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) took legal action against them.
“I will still offer to stand with the officers that will track and eliminate the gang of criminals,” he stated.
The young boy from Ikuruma village in Marani Kisii County was found dumped and in excruciating pain after a gang of men attacked him before gouging out his eyes. Sadly, according to the doctors, the kid will be blind for the rest of his life.
Family members lamented that the young boy went missing for an hour before he was found inside a maize plantation.
According to his grandmother, while in the company of other boys, the young boy went to fetch water at a nearby spring, but he was left behind after he ran away.
This prompted a search for the young kid, but he was only found the next day by his elder brother, who was cutting grass near the scene.
“We rushed to the scene and found the boy writhing in pain and his eyes gouged out,” the grandmother added.
His family called upon the area police to investigate the matter and apprehend all involved in the heinous act.
Meanwhile, Sonko’s offer and sentiments may prompt a fierce response from IPOA, which investigates extra-judicial cases linked to the police.
IPOA, on Saturday, December 17, castigated Inspector General Japhet Koome, who issued a shoot-to-kill order to the police.
The authority noted that it made policy recommendations that have reduced crime by embedding the police to live within communities and helped realise a functional Internal Affairs Unit (IAU), informed acquisition of police vehicles for rapid response and officer safety in operations.
Its measures, it argued, were geared towards raising public confidence in the police, efforts which IG Koome was reportedly corroding.
Sonko’s controversial remarks also came amid the famous Pangani Six officer, Ahmed Rashid, facing an extra-judicial case. Rashid was accused of killing two teenagers in 2017.
