The Kenya Social Forum Executive committee had just completed a marathon three hour meeting at Wananchi Pavilion on the evening of Friday March 16th. The meeting started at around 19.30 hrs and had been called to discuss the coming Kesofo elections scheduled for Saturday March 31st.
After the meeting, Committee members did not leave immediately. Informal discussions about elections, the political situation in Stockholm, the future of Kesofo and recruitment of Kesofo members continued. Both ODM-KS and Narc-Kenya Scandinavia members discussed various issues related to the two political parties. Jokes were cracked and hot gossip (kama kawaida) laced exchanges until everybody left the Pavilion. By then, it was some minutes past midnight.
After everybody called it a day, myself and Mr. Munala, ODM-K Scandinavia Secretary who is also the Editor of Jamii, remained behind to compare notes about the meeting. We retreated to the ODM-Kenya Scandinavia Office adjacent to the Pavilion.
Suddenly, I got a call from Kesofo Chairlady, Winnie Mukaru that she was at Slussen tube station and that she was being manhandled by the guards after an argument errupted between her and the ticket attendant.
As patriots on the front-lines, we armed ourselves with cameras and other equipment and rushed to the scene to investigate. When we arrived, we found Winnie Mukaru arguing with the ticket attendant after making her way back to the station following her violent eviction from the scene by guards moments earlier. She was making a second attempt to get her ticket stamped so that she could travel. Apparently, the attendant was an African woman reportedly from Uganda. By the time we arrived, the guards had left.
According to the argument we gathered at the scene, the attendant had refused to stamp her ticket because she presented it while talking on her mobile phone. According to Winnie, the attendant had insisted that it was rude for her to have presented her ticket for stamping while at the same time talking to someone on her mobile. A contact who identified the attendant told KSB that she is well known for giving Africans trouble for some unknown reasons.
As the argument continued with Mr. Munala taking notes as I took pictures, a group of guards arrived and told us to stop taking pictures. They had been alerted by the Ticket attendant.
“This is a public place and you cannot prevent us from taking pictures”, I told the guard who insisted that we had to leave.
In the meantime, Winnie continued to argue with the ticket attendant as two guards insisted that she leave the station. She tried to show her ticket and said that she had a right to get into the station but the guards stuck to their guns. The situation was changing quickly and soon, the guards divided themselves into two groups with one group insisting that we stop taking pictures and another group getting ready to get on Winnie. They were getting worried that events were being documented.
Suddenly, Winnie was seized by two gurds who quickly dragged her into a nearby holding cell after which they closed the door. I managed to take a picture as the guards shut the door of the holding cell where Winnie was thrown. It was at this point that the guards noticed that the documentation was much more organized. They began to focus on us.
Swedish security guards have a history of brutality especially against Africans in Sweden and we did not want to take chances because they were calling for re-enforcement. After Winnie was locked in, we started moving away from the scene in slow motion so that we could get out of the station. I continued to take pictures and Munala continued to question the guards why they were acting illegally.
The last picture I took was when we were standing on the stairs of the elevator as Munala continued talking to two guards at very close range. When I reached the end of the elevator, I saw two guards running towards me. I got into the street in a bid to maintain a good distance from the guards. Before I could make extra steps to even move further from the station, I was swept off my feet with a powerful kick and as I fell down, two guards descended on me. They twisted by arms behind my back with machismo, in the process, applying brutal force on me although I was not violent.
The brutality with which they handled me shocked many passers by who stopped to watch the unfolding drama. The guards seized me from the streets and dragged me back into the station where they pushed me into the holding cell. I found three guards keeping a close eye on Winnie. After about five minutes, a young Swedish man who had witnessed the guard’s brutality against me was hauled into the cell by two guards. He told me that he refused to leave the station as had been ordered by the guards because he wanted to be a witness of the brutality. He told us that two other witnesses were also waiting outside to tell their story to police once they arrived.
It did not take time before police arrived at the holding cell. They questioned the guards about what had happened then turned to Winnie before they took my story. I showed the policeman my injured knee which was still bleeding with fresh blood as a result of the brutal manner in which I was handled by the guards.
The policeman then asked me if I wanted to file a complaint and I said “Yes”. He requested that we go out so that I could record a statement and we left.
After I gave him my story, I was surprised when the policeman started telling me that he could not file a case because I had sustained the injuries by myself when I was falling down. I did not even have time to respond because we were by now surrounded by three Swedish witnesses who shouted the policeman down and told him that I had been brought down by the guards. It was after this intervention that the policeman accepted to file a case.
In the meantime, Munala resumed taking pictures outside the tube station as police wrote down my story. Police then took the story of one of the witnesses and insisted that one witness was enough although four witnesses were available.
Munala took the phone numbers of the witnesses who promised to support the case against the guards if it came out in court. After all statements were taken, police insisted that we get into the police van so that we could leave the scene. We were dumped in a nearby station but I was so much in pain that I had to go for medical check up. A doctor has since documented my injuries which will be used in court when the case comes up.
My body has been aching thoughout the week-end. I thank Wakenya, friends and other contacts around the world who have called me or sent mail wishing me quick recovery. A deeper analyisis of the brutality of security guards against Africans in Sweden will be rendered later at KSB.
Okoth Osewe
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