Police shoot man over bribery dispute in London estate

Residents of London estate in Nakuru were up in arms on Monday after police shot a man in the head at Hilton, London estate.

According to the residents, the police from Nakuru Central police station had gone to the area to collect bribes from bhang peddlers in the area, something that has been common.

Angered, the residents started shouting at the police, demanding that they leave the estate.

It was then that one man was shot amidst the melee and was pronounced dead on arrival at Nakuru county teaching and referral hospital.

Following his death, the incident escalated into a heated protest with protesters blocking the Nakuru-Kabarak road with stones and burnt car tires.

Some of the protesters marched to Nakuru PGH hospital demanding justice for the man identified as Daniel Nderitu.

Efforts by Nakuru West MP Samuel Arama and Nakuru East MP David Gikaria to quell the chaos failed as the protesters retreated briefly, only to go back to the road.

Their demand was that the County police commander Michael Mwaura must go there in person.

In an interview with members of the press, Mr Mwaura said the police had arrested a man in Nakuru CBD with bhang during patrols.

“They asked him who his dealer is and the man said the dealer is in Hilton. When the police went there to investigate further, chaos ensued causing them to shoot in the air. That was when one citizen was shot,” he said.

Mr Mwaura added that the police, ten in number have since been disarmed and are writing down statements to aid with investigations.

“The case will be taken up by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA)," Mwaura noted.

However, MP Arama did not seem convinced by the commander’s views, citing other instances where the police promised to investigate similar instances but nothing became of it.

“I don’t think the police here can investigate themselves. We need Police from Nairobi to take this up,” a visibly angry Arama said.

His Nakuru East counterpart asked Mr Mwaura to ensure police adhere to their boundaries saying it was wrong for the police officers from Nakuru east sub county to conduct an operation in Nakuru west jurisdiction.

“Bwana commander, the police should operate within their jurisdiction. If they must go to another sub county, then you need to be aware of it,” Mr Gikaria noted.

The three then headed to Hilton in an attempt to restore calm in the area.