Tension is high at the Kiptagich trading centre following the deaths of three people allegedly at the hands of the police on Sunday evening.
Residents said a traffic police officer seized the steering from the driver of a lorry ferrying tea leaves and rammed a motorcycle, killing the motorcyclist and a pillion passenger before forcing the driver out of the lorry and running over him too.
The motorcyclist and his passenger died on the spot while the lorry driver died while undergoing treatment.
The incident led to protests by area residents, who accused the police of carelessness and demanded that the officer be prosecuted.
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Witnesses told Nation.Africa that the lorry driver had earlier caused a minor accident when he hit a car from behind on the Olenguruone-Kiptagich road and that the drivers of the two vehicles had agreed to settle the matter without involving the police.
“But the officer came to the scene and insisted that the driver take the vehicle to the police station or pay a fine, even when the driver of the smaller vehicle tried to tell him that they had settled the issue,” said witness Benard Lang’at.
Mr Lang’at said that the officer, attached to Kiptagich Police Station, forcefully entered the vehicle and attempted to remove the driver by pulling him from the steering wheel.
As the two struggled to control the vehicle, the driver lost control and hit the motorcycle. The officer then pushed the driver out of the vehicle and ran him over.
“He was taken to hospital, where he later died,” a resident said.
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Residents protest at Kiptagich trading centre in Kuresoi South,Nakuru County. They called for justice following the killing of three people, a boda boda operator,
his passenger and a truck driver. John Njoroge I Nation Media Group
Protesters said they were tired of incidents involving the police in the area, and asked the National Police Service to intervene.
Early last year, a secondary school student was killed by a stray bullet as police officers dispersed protesting residents who had barricaded the road in the same area.
“The government is there to provide and protect citizens with enough security but not to jeopardise them and cause deaths to innocent Kenyans,” said another resident.
They said boda boda riders have borne the brunt of the harassment as their motorcycles are seized and dumped at the Olenguruone Police Station rendering the operators jobless.
Mr Noah Ruto, a brother of one of the victims, said the officer was demanding a bribe in order to free his brother, who refused to give in.
A sister of one of the deceased, Rosemary Koskey, questioned why the officer who caused the deaths had not been arrested.
The sub-county police commander did not answer our phone calls and text messages seeking comment on the incident.
The bodies of the victims were moved to the Olenguruone Sub-County Hospital mortuary