Police van in hot pursuit of a motorbike rider believed to be ferrying bhang in the wee hours today ploughed through a group of students killing one girl, who died on the spot.
According to eyewitnesses, the police officers at a roadblock along the busy Migori-Kisii highway tried to stop a motorbike rider and gave a chase.
In the confusion, the bhang smuggler is said to have made a gateway through nearby sugarcane plantations.
Two students and a woman were taken to Migori Referral Hospital for further treatment and were in stable condition.
The condition of the occupants in the police vehicle including the vehicle was not certain.
Angry students and members of the public started attacking police vehicles at the scene and other vehicles on the road, blocking the road using boulders for close to an hour.
Police were forced to fire live bullets and lob teargas in the air at Lwala Mixed Secondary School students who were demonstrating over the death of their colleague.
Overwhelmed, police from nearby Uriri headquarters called on backup from Migori town and who were forced to lob teargas to clear the road and prevent the crowd from marching to Migori town.
“We want to know if traffic rules only apply for common wananchi and not the police as the students were walking on a wide road when they were run over by the police vehicle,” Walter Nyambogo, a teacher at the school said.
“We have been shocked by the death and the incident, it is unfortunate that police resorted to fire guns and teargas which affected most students further,” he added.
After running battles lasting for two hours the students were addressed at the Uriri education office.
The police officers were forced to cordon off the vehicle involved in an accident and escort it to the Uriri police station.
“We will ensure the police officer involved in the accident and the victims get justice, and as a community, we will also make sure peace prevails in the area,” Graham Kagali, South Kanyamkago MCA said.
Migori county police commander Mark Wanjala and Uriri DCC Monica Kang’ethe said the incident was unfortunate and they will ensure investigations are carried out.
“Police had tried to access the accident scene to collect evidence and students tried to stop them and harass other motorists, otherwise nobody is above the law and we will launch investigations,” Wanjala said.
However, Kang’ethe send her condolence to the families of those involved in the accident and called for peace and calm as they continue investigations.
IAN BYRON