The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has issued a statement in response to recordings showing officers arresting an elderly man over a disputed plot of land in Nairobi's Lavington district.
On Saturday, Kileleshwa MCA Robert Alai shared a video of police handcuffing the man and transporting him to a car, claiming they were taking him to the DCI offices on Kiambu Road. When his family questions the investigators, they insist they don't need a warrant to arrest him.
In another video released by activist Boniface Mwangi, the man's daughter claims that shortly after her father's imprisonment, unknown strangers invaded the family property and began putting a fence on the land she had lived on for 27 years.
A segment of Kenyans took to social media to criticise the investigation agency for not following due process.
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In a statement issued on Sunday, DCI called the film "an incomplete picture of a major story." According to the agency, the arrest was conducted in response to a complaint filed by Munir Ahmed Chaundri, a 75-year-old Kenyan citizen living in the United Kingdom.
According to DCI, Chaundri accused the current tenants, Mahesh Kumar Bhatti and Anita Bhatti, of illegally claiming ownership of the property.
Chaundri claimed to have purchased the land in 1977 before renting it to a construction company associated to the accused in 1984, according to authorities.
According to DCI, Chaundri reported the incident in February of this year, accusing the couple of refusing him entrance to the property on previous instances when access was given.
Detectives said that the suspect in the case has not submitted ownership paperwork for the contested land.
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