Klinzy Barasa and Duncan Kiprono with hawker Boniface Kariuki before Barasa pulled the trigger on him. Photo: Y254 Facebook.
Lawyer Felix Keaton, a lawyer representing police constables Klinzy Barasa and Duncan Kipronoh has withdrawn from the case of the two officers assaulting and shooting mask vendor Boniface Kariuki during Tuesday protests in Nairobi,
Keaton in his statement cited a series of threats he linked to the online Gen Zs, according to a report by Citizen Digital, the lawyer said he withdraws from the case officially for the his safety and that of my family.
“In the interest of my personal safety and that of my family, I have taken the painful but necessary decision to cease all legal representation in this matter,” Keaton stated.
He was defending the two officers, who were captured in a video that has since gone viral assaulting Boniface Kariuki, which has sparked public outrage on the increasingly police brutality against unarmed civilians. The public demanding National Police Service (NPS), to ensure the two officers are held accountable of their barbaric conduct.
Keaton disclosed that he has received more than 1000 threatening messages from the online force demanding him to withdraw from the case, an issue which saw some of his family members receiving threatening messages.
The lawyer had earlier said that his client claimed that no police officer at the scene was armed with live bullets.
“They had shotguns and rubber bullets,” Keaton said. If any shots were fired, they were rubber bullets. Not live ammunition,” Keaton had claimed earlier.
The two officers are set to be arraigned in court later today, after the National Police service confirmed their identity and interdicted the two officers.
“The National Police Service (NPS) deeply regrets this unjustified act and commiserates the victim and his family, while reaffirming its full commitment to ensuring justice is served,” read statement from the service Spokesperson Muchiri Nyaga.
