Wiper Patriotic Front leader Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka has levelled stinging accusations against the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), alleging that the police watchdog systematically undermined the pursuit of justice for Kenyans killed during the 2024 Gen Z protests. Speaking on the second anniversary of the June 25 uprising, he said the authority’s conduct amounted to complicity in the deaths of innocent Kenyans.
Central to Kalonzo’s condemnation is the case of Rex Masai, a 29-year-old man shot dead on June 15, 2024. The opposition leader disclosed that IPOA itself conceded in court a catalogue of critical investigative failures related to Masai’s death — admissions that raise serious questions about whether the authority has the will, or even the mandate, to deliver genuine accountability.
The shortcomings Kalonzo detailed are striking in their scope. According to him, IPOA failed to recover the bullet from Masai’s body, did not collect cartridge casings from the scene, neglected to secure surveillance footage that may have captured the shooting, made no effort to retrieve the alleged murder weapon, and failed to put in place adequate protection for key witnesses in the case.
“The officer charged in the case may ultimately walk free, not because he has been innocent, but because evidence required to secure justice was never gathered,” Kalonzo stated. The Wiper leader went further, framing these failures not as isolated incompetence but as proof of a deliberately constructed system that shields uniformed perpetrators from accountability, leaving grieving families with nothing but silence.
Beyond the Masai case, Kalonzo issued a broad demand for the government to account for every life taken during the protests and called on security forces to exercise maximum restraint during the June 25 anniversary commemorations. He further demanded a formal, public apology from the presidency and insisted on tangible financial compensation for every affected family.
The opposition leader also turned his attention to Parliament, criticising the revelation that 186 Members of Parliament were absent during the vote on the contentious Finance Bill — a mass no-show that he said exposes the depth of impunity entrenched within Kenya’s legislative institutions.
Concluding his statement, Kalonzo renewed his longstanding push for June 25 to be officially declared a national public holiday under the name “Liberation Day,” arguing that the sacrifice made by young Kenyans on that day in 2024 deserves a permanent, honoured place on the national calendar.
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