Cop Shakur: Interdicted Officer Arrested After Joining Paramilitary Group Fighting Police Impunity
- Former prisons officer Jackson Kuria, alias Cop Shakur, was arrested outside Kahawa Law Courts
- He had gone to show solidarity with Patrick Osoi, an ex-KDF soldier arrested the day before
- The two had formed a paramilitary like group aimed at fighting police brutality and impunity
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TUKO.co.ke journalist Harry Ivan Mboto has over three years of experience reporting on politics and current affairs in Kenya
What started as a show of solidarity ended in handcuffs for Jackson Kuria, better known as Cop Shakur, after detectives arrested him.
Source: Twitter
On the afternoon of Wednesday, July 30, Kuria was apprehended by officers believed to be from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) as he approached the Kahawa Law Courts.
He had turned up to stand with Patrick Osoi, a former KDF special forces officer and US Army veteran, who had been arrested the previous evening.
Kuria, who once served in the Kenya Prisons Service, was intercepted while still in his car.
Why was Cop Shakur arrested?
He recorded the encounter, and in the video, he is heard demanding to know why he was being arrested, accusing the officers of failing to give him a valid reason. .
Despite his protests, he was taken away and driven to the DCI headquarters along Kiambu Road.
"They want to arrest me. I'm here in Kahawa Law Courts. The only thing I'm having here is a Kenyan flag. What am I being arrested for? Identify yourselves," he was heard telling the plain clothed officers.
"I'm not opening (the car). Tell me if there is a warrant of arrest. Then you tell me my mistake. I have the right to be told," he added.
Soon after his arrest, online activists rallied behind him, calling for his release and condemning the move as a form of state intimidation.
Kuria had previously criticised Osoi’s arrest, describing it as part of a wider crackdown on outspoken former security officers.
Was Cop Shakur fired from police force?
Cop Shakur rose to prominence during the 2024 anti-finance bill protests, where he openly joined young demonstrators on the streets.
Holding a placard with anti-government slogans, he defied his employer and the state, which resulted in his salary being slashed as punishment.
In May, nearly a year after those protests, Kuria took to social media to reveal that he had been officially dismissed from the Kenya Prisons Service.
He suggested the move was politically motivated and linked to his support for the protests.
Source: Original
Did Cop Shakur join forces in forming paramilitary group?
Prior to his arrest, Osoi had announced the formation of a new movement aimed at challenging extrajudicial killings and impunity in the police service.
The paramilitary-like movement, named Fighting Brutality and Impunity (FBI), brought together former security officers with a shared mission to defend victims of police excesses.
Kuria had aligned himself with the movement, and even took photos and recorded videos dressed in military-like outfits. The move is believed to be behind his arrest
Source: TUKO.co.ke
