The Directorate of Criminal Investigations has broken its silence after sharp criticism of posting old demonstration images.
The DCI through their social media pages on Saturday apologised for what they termed as a mix-up of images and blamed it on ‘overwhelming information’ received from the public.
“DCI wishes to unreservedly apologize to the public for the mix-up of images in yesterday’s communication, which was meant to appeal for information regarding the whereabouts of criminal suspects involved in Monday’s illegal demonstrations,” the DCI said.
“The mix-up was partly occasioned by the overwhelming information that we had received via the #FichuakwaDCI online platform regarding the reported incidents of violence,” the statement reads.
The DCI has said they are working on rectifying the mistake and maintaining public confidence in their operations.
DCI on Friday launched a manhunt for suspects alleged to have engaged in acts of violence during the Monday protests.
They alternatively requested the suspects to present themselves at the Serious Crimes offices based at DCI headquarters along Kiambu Road or at their nearest police station before close of business on Friday for further action.
However, it has emerged that some of the images shared on the DCI page are misleading as they were not taken during last week’s protests as alleged.
Some of the images purported to be from Monday’s anti-government rallies were found to be have been taken on different dates, some as far back as 10 years ago.
Some of the images were also not shot in Kenya while others were not related to the Monday demonstrations.
For instance, a reverse search of an image showing people holding sticks found it had been taken on May 5, 2015 in Burundi’s Capital Bujumbura by an AFP photographer.
The images have attracted criticism from Kenyans who have called out the DCI over what they have termed as misleading the public.
Source: The Star