A Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) student Allan Odhiambo, who was recorded being clobbered by four security officers, on Friday revealed how the viral video saved his life.
In an interview he did with Daily Nation, the student shockingly revealed that the inhumane incident he received in the recorded video was lesser compared to the one meted on him while in the police vehicle.
According to Odhiambo, the security officers continued with the assault while in their vehicle and threatened him that they will kill him.
The JKUAT student also revealed that the officers labelled him as a member of an outlawed criminal gang owing to his hairstyle.
However, he says, an intervention by some of his colleagues saved his life that, according to him, was on the line.
“The Video that you saw yes it was brutal but it got worse when they put on their LandCruiser. Because they cuffed me and tied me on the LandCruiser above and started clobbering me.
“I was not feeling any pain because the body was already numb. They threatened me and said they will kill me that because of my hair I am probably a Mungiki member.
“Because my eyes were red from the teargas, they said chances are I am a bhang smoker too. They told me they won’t take me to the station and that they will get rid of me so that I can serve as an example to the rest.
“The only thing that saved me is the coming of two of my classmates who had recorded the video. They talked to the cops and showed them the video and told them that it had gone viral.
“At that point is when they realized they had messed otherwise they would have killed me and no one could have known of the matter,” narrated Odhiambo.
According to Odhiambo, the police officers cornered him while on his way to the shop to buy a soft drink.
The viral video caught the attention of Kenyans on social media who launched a quest for justice and demanded action from the relevant authorities.
The Monday incident prompted the Inspector General of police Hillary Mutyambai to interdict three of the four officers.
The three were identified as Corporal George Mwathania and Police Constables Jonathan Kibet and Boniface Muthama.
The fourth one was yet to be identified.
On Monday, JKUAT students took to the streets to protest over the rising cases of insecurity at the institution.
They blocked Thika road leading to a traffic snarl-up resulting in a scuffle with police officers who came in to establish order.
Here is the video of Allan Odhiambo courtesy of Daily Nation: