Police in Migori were forced to lob teargas to disperse protesters after an accident that left a secondary school student dead.
In the early morning incident, a police vehicle reportedly ran into the female student while chasing after a suspected marijuana peddler aboard a motorbike.
The Lwala Mixed Secondary School student was walking to school at 6am in the company of her friends when the incident occurred.
Walter Nyambogo, a teacher, said police officers manning a roadblock along the Migori-Kisii Highway tried to arrest a motorbike rider suspected to be transporting marijuana but he evaded them, resulting into a speedy chase.
The police vehicle ran into the group of students, where the girl died on the spot, and left others injured.
Two students and a woman were taken to Migori Referral Hospital for further treatment and reported to be in stable condition.
The condition of the occupants in the police vehicle was not certain.
In the confusion, the rider is said to have escaped into the nearby sugarcane plantation.
Angry students and locals reportedly attacked the officers using stones and other crude weapons and blocked the road using boulders for close to an hour.
Overwhelmed, police from nearby Uriri headquarters called for backup from Migori Town who were forced to fire live bullets in the air and lob teargas to clear the road.
After running battles lasting for two hours, the students were addressed at the Uriri Education Office while police officers were forced to cordon off the vehicle involved in an accident and escort it to Uriri Police Station.
Migori County Police Commander Mark Wanjala and Uriri DCC Monica Kang’ethe said the incident was unfortunate.
Kang’ethe sent her condolence to the bereaved and called for peace and calm as they continue with investigations.
