Homa Bay fisherman hospitalised after alleged torture in police cell

A 34-year-old fisherman is nursing injuries at Homa Bay County Referral Hospital after police officers allegedly tortured him in a cell at Ringiti police post in Suba Central.

The victim, Gabriel Mwita Chacha, says the officers arrested him on Saturday morning after a verbal quarrel with his neighbour on the Island.

He alleged that the said neighbour bribed the officers with Ksh.2,500 to have him arrested and tortured.

“I had a disagreement with a neighbour who then paid the police and they came and arrested me. They took me to the station and beat me up…when they noticed that they had injured me, they locked me in the cells till dusk and tried to release me in the darkness so that nobody could see me,” Chacha narrated.

“I however refused to leave because I could not even walk…my work manager came and took me to the Beach Management Unit (BMU) offices where I reported the incident, and then I was brought to hospital.”

Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga has since condemned the incident, which comes in the wake of rising cases of police brutality.