Spoken word artist and activist Silweyz in shock after alleged assault by six police officers
Nakuru based spoken word artist Brian Silweyz.
Spoken word artist Brian Silweyz has broken his silence on alleged verbal and physical assault by six police officers stationed at Nakuru Central Police Station.
In an exclusive interview with Mtaa Wangu, Silweyz says he was assaulted Sunday evening at around 7pm by plain clothed police officers around Gilani’s supermarket.
“I was approaching the Rift Valley Sports Club heading home from an event. From a distance I saw a group of on lookers witnessing a man being beaten. I decided to take a glance to see what was happening and that is where my troubles started,” he narrates.
As he stood amongst the crowd, he says, some people turned to him and grabbed him by his pants.
“In a minute the men had left the young man who was wailing in his defence and approached me with hostility. I was shocked and wondered what had promoted them to look my way. Scared since I did not know what was happening I asked them what was going on. That is when one of them slapped me.”
“What followed was them pulling me away from the crowd towards Nyayo garden where they threw all manner of abuses my way, beat me up and took away my phone,” he recounts.
Silweyz says he did not know the men and woman assaulting him were police officers until they got him to central police station.
“I continuously asked them why they were beating me, however, I did not get any answers. Instead they mocked me for being an activist saying I only make social justice pieces against police brutality but never speak of cases where the police have been assaulted,” he adds.
Additionally, Silweyz says the police locked him up at central police station for close to three hours before his fellow activists came to his rescue.
"Last week I featured in two local TV stations speaking against police brutality in Nakuru. I think that may have made me a target in the face of the police officers," Silweyz reflects.
In a phone call interview on Monday, Nakuru East Deputy sub-county commander, Henry Gitonga, says he has not received any information concerning the said allegation, but noted that he would look into it.
At the time of publishing the story, Silweyz among other activists were drafting a letter of complaint to the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) requesting investigations on the incident.