A police officer who opened fire on villagers at Kolongolo in Kwanza, Trans-Nzoia County, killing two people on the spot and injuring others has been arrested.
The officer has been taken to Kitale Police Station as investigations start on whether he used excessive force in the incident that left a total of five people dead.
The shooting incident occurred at about 4pm on Sunday when three police officers responded to a domestic dispute report.
WHAT HAPPENED
When they arrived at the suspect’s homestead, a scuffle ensued as the suspect resisted arrest and his friends protested the manner in which the police were handling him.
It was then that one of the police officers is said to have fired his gun, killing two people on the spot.
Trans Nzoia County Commissioner Erastus Mbui said he could not yet confirm whether the three other people who succumbed in various Kitale hospitals died from gunshot injuries.
“The number that is confirmed by the police are two but there are reports that there are three more who succumbed at the hospital although we are yet to identify them.
‘RESISTED ARREST’
Mr Mbui said the scuffle was triggered after residents confronted police officers who had gone to arrest a man accused of assaulting his wife.
“The officers had gone to arrest a man identified as Dan Juma suspected to have assaulted Metrin Shikuku, who is his wife, but [refused to be handcuffed],” said Mr Mbui.
Following the killings, local residents are reported to have hurled stones at the police officers leading to the shooting of the other victims.
SPEAKER INJURED
Trans Nzoia County Assembly Speaker Joshua Werunga is among those who were injured during the scuffle with the police. Mr Werunga was hit with a blunt object on the head.
He was taken to taken to different hospitals in Kitale town for first-aid and then transferred to Eldoret for further treatment.
The other victims, numbering at least 10, were admitted at Mt Elgon and Kitale County Referral hospitals.