A video showing police officers loading laptops into a van during Tuesday’s protests in Nairobi has triggered a storm online, with many Kenyans accusing the officers of looting.
But Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris has dismissed those claims, saying the footage was misleading.
“The laptops looted from the electronics shop were recovered and are now safely in police custody,” Passaris said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) Wednesday morning. She said she had spoken directly to the Nairobi Regional Police Commander, Adamson Bungei Seda, to confirm the details.
“Nation Media, your headline saying ‘police leave with laptops’ is misleading. The right word is ‘recovered’, not ‘leave’,” she added.
The protests, held in honour of the late teacher Albert Ojwang’, began peacefully but quickly turned chaotic. Gangs reportedly infiltrated the crowd, breaking into shops and attacking pedestrians with clubs and knives. Videos from the day show thugs robbing passersby in full view of security officers, with little visible police resistance.
That perceived inaction has raised serious questions about the role of the police during the unrest.
Opposition leader Kalonzo Musyoka criticised the police response. “What we saw was unacceptable. The police ignored armed gangs while turning on peaceful demonstrators,” he told reporters at a press briefing.
The video of police handling the laptops struck a nerve partly because it came amid widespread claims of police collusion or at least indifference as looters ransacked parts of the city.
Meanwhile, another disturbing video surfaced from the same protests. A hawker selling face masks on Mondlane Street was shot at close range by a police officer after being slapped and struck with a rifle butt. The footage has gone viral, drawing condemnation from across the political spectrum.
Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja confirmed the officer involved has since been arrested and will face charges. “We do not condone this kind of brutality. The officer has been taken into custody and will face the law,” he said in a statement late Tuesday.
As tension continues to simmer in Nairobi, the government faces growing pressure to ensure accountability both for rogue protesters and for law enforcement officers accused of misconduct.
Whether the laptops were stolen or recovered may yet be confirmed through further investigation. But for many Kenyans watching from the sidelines, the bigger question remains: Who is policing the police?
