A Form Four student has reportedly lost his speech after being assaulted by police officers in Ndhiwa, Homa Bay County.
Almada Onyango, 17, was allegedly attacked by two police officers from Kamata AP line on Thursday last week. The Rambusi Secondary School student is said to have been assaulted for intervening after the officers arrested a Form One student from his school. His mother, Lea Okong’o, said the officers arrested the boy, who was riding a motorbike, thinking he was a boda boda operator.
Onyango, who was going to register for Huduma Namba, stopped to explain to the officers that the boy was a student.
“My son did nothing wrong. He was only explaining to the officers that the boy they had arrested had been sent by his father to collect food from the shopping centre. The officers pounced on him, took him to the AP camp and assaulted him,” Ms Okong’o said.
Daughter calledShe said her daughter called her to the AP camp after her efforts to rescue Onyango failed. “The officers threatened to shoot me if I dared enter the room where my son was being held. They were still assaulting him. I screamed for help and boda boda operators who heard my cry came and rescued my son from the officers,” she said. She said the boy has not uttered a word since he was admitted to the county referral hospital.
Okong’o called on the Government to investigate the matter and ensure justice for the minor. “My son can neither talk nor eat. They only needed to take him to court if he had broken the law,” she said.
County police boss Esther Seroney said she was aware of the incident. “Investigations are underway and we will make sure justice is served,” she said. Relatives said the boy had lost consciousness by the time he was being taken to hospital.The hospital’s acting CEO Meshack Liru said the boy suffered injuries in the nerves that control the voice box. “The voice box was interfered with after he was strangled. We are doing our best to restore him,” Mr Liru said yesterday.