A tragic stampede occurred at Kericho Green Stadium, the venue for this year’s Mashujaa Day Celebrations, resulting in the loss of four lives and injuries to 13 individuals.
The devastating incident unfolded at 3 a.m. on Friday, several hours prior to the official opening of the stadium’s gates to the public in preparation for the national celebrations led by President William Ruto.
According to a statement from the police, the stampede was triggered by an unfortunate accident involving a tea vendor. The vendor accidentally spilled hot tea onto an open fire near gate “C” along the public road. The sudden burst of hot tea and the ensuing commotion were misconstrued by the public as a teargas attack.
“…stampede caused by a lady who was selling tea outside the stadium who accidentally spilled hot tea in the fire near gate “C” along the public road, as a result, members of the public panicked and mistook it to be a teargas thrown at them,” explained the police in their statement.
The 13 individuals injured in the incident, fortunately, remain in stable condition. They were promptly transported to the Kericho County Referral Hospital for immediate medical attention. Sadly, the four lives lost in the stampede were taken to the hospital’s morgue, awaiting identification and postmortem procedures.
