County News
Release CCTV footage of fatal GSU shooting at US embassy to establish truth—Muslim group
NAIROBI—A Muslim lobby group has called on the US embassy in Nairobi to release the CCTV footage prior to the shooting of a man to establish what transpired on Thursday evening last week.
American security officers inspect the body of a man shot dead by police after he allegedly stabbed one of them Thursday. PHOTO: Herman Kariuki for Reuters
The Kenya Muslim Caucus says it is concerned about the circumstances that led to the fatal shooting of the man by a General Service Unit (GSU) officer guarding the embassy.
“Although the man was quickly labelled a terrorist,” Issa Ahmed, the chairman of the group said.
“We have reason to believe there could be more than meets the eye.”
“We have compelling reasons to question the claim that Abdimahat Ibrahim Hassan was shot dead after he stabbed the GSU officer and sought to snatch his weapon so as to attack the embassy,”Issa added.
Speaking at the scene of the attack, the area police chief Vitalis Otieno said, “The man was shot after stabbing a GSU (General Service Unit) officer in the hand and left him with injuries.”
“Without doing so, it would be difficult not to conclude that there was a possible cover-up in the killing,” he said.
“We call on Kenyan and US authorities to expedite independent investigations into the matter and release findings as soon as possible.”
The lobby group said the available information, including statements from family members and photographs from the scene, strongly suggest that Hassan may have in fact been a victim of a trigger-happy GSU officer.
Witness who spoke to Kulan Post say the police officers shot the assailant in the head after he was downed.
Officials at the US embassy in Nairobi declined to comment on what transpired at their premises, insisting that, “No embassy personnel was harmed nor involved.”
