Editor's Review

The Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Alliance has written to the International Criminal Court (ICC) over violence witnessed during anti-government demonstrations last month.

Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Alliance has written to the International Criminal Court (ICC) over violence witnessed during anti-government demonstrations last month. 

In a letter dated Friday, April 14, Azimio legal representative Paul Mwangi accused the Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome of establishing a special squad of rogue police officers to unleash terror on Azimio supporters during protests.

“Japheth Koome established a special squad of police officers known to be rogue and some being accused persons in criminal courts in Kenya facing charges of killing with the purpose of unleashing terror on supporters of Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition party when they were exercising their constitutional right to assemble, demonstrate and picket,” read the letter in part. 

Azimio claimed that the police officers attempted to assassinate former Prime Minister Raila Odinga while he was leading protests in the Embakasi area.

“On 3rd April 2023 at 1630 hours, at around the Pipeline area of Embakasi South Constituency in Nairobi City, a contingent of police officers approached the motor vehicle in which the Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition party leader Raila Odinga was being ferried in and fired 7 approximately ten round of live ammunition with a clear intention to kill him,” Azimio stated.

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File image of President William Ruto and Police IG Japhet Koome

The opposition accused IG Koome of acting as a conspirator during attacks on the Kenyatta family’s Northlands farm and the East Africa Spectre Limited, which is owned by Raila. 

“At the time of the attacks, Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga were the Chairman and Party Leader respectively of the Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition party and were openly blamed by the political leadership of Kenya Kwanza including by the President and Deputy President of financing and mobilizing the demonstrations of members of the Azimio coalition,” the letter added. 

The Raila-led coalition also claimed that nine people lost their lives in the demos while 35 people sustained injuries.

The letter further accused the Kenya Kwanza government of delegalizing members of the opposition as citizens of Kenya by referring that the country was a company limited by shares and only members of their coalition were shareholders.

Azimio requested ICC prosecutor Karim Khan to submit the information to the Pre-Trial Chamber for authorization for an investigation.