The Directorate of Criminal Investigations has said it will launch investigations into looters who took advantage of the protests last week to destroy properties and businesses.
According to the police, while Kenyans peacefully exercised their right to protest, some took advantage and went on a looting spree.
In a statement on X, DCI unveiled the faces of the suspects caught on CCTV.
Police have called on Kenyans to report them to the nearest police station.
“When the Kenyan youths (Gen Z) organised nationwide peaceful protests to exercise their democratic right rejecting the proposed 2024-25 Finance Bill, other groups with criminal minds took advantage of the situation and devised schemes to cause harm and economically frustrate fellow Kenyans,” DCI said in a statement.
In a video shared, the suspects were seen looting in a boutique that was seemingly closed.
The suspects seemingly young were seen reaching out to the shelves and looting clothes from the drawers.
Most of the suspects wore capes and were in masks to protect themselves from being easily identified.
Police added that the looters posed as demonstrators and earmarked several business premises to loot.
They broke in and looted boutiques, electronic shops, and supermarkets.
“As a criminal investigative agency, it squarely falls within the mandate of the DCI to investigate and bring to book any persons involved in such outright criminality, which not only robbed numerous Kenyans of their means of livelihood but also worked towards compromising an otherwise crucial constitutional right,” the statement reads.
The DCI’s Imaging and Acoustic Unit domiciled at the National Forensic Laboratory has since retrieved numerous CCTV footage that captured identifiable persons.
Police said their acts isolated them from the hundreds of thousands that stuck to their course.
DCI has launched investigations into the act to arrest the suspects and bring them to book.
According to them, more suspects are still out on the streets waiting for other opportune times to strike again causing more damage and risking the lives of innocent Kenyans caught up in the course of quelling the crimes.
“We can flush them from amongst our numbers because they do not share the principles that define what we stand for, and more so for the sake of those who did not deserve to lose their only means of livelihood in this manner,” DCI added.
Police have appealed to Kenyans to report them to any police stations or #FichuakwaDCI by calling the toll-free hotline 0800 722 203.
This comes after Kenyans took to the streets over the Finance Bill 2024.
The nationwide protests saw many injured, deaths reported and property destroyed.
President William Ruto has since declined to sign the controversial Bill and sent it back to Parliament.
