Soldier shot dead over debt dispute

Disagreement over a debt between a policeman and a Prisons officer turned tragic when a soldier was accidentally shot dead.

Two other people were left nursing gunshot wounds after the incident in Eldoret on Thursday.

The Army man died after he was shot twice in the chest by the prisons officer, who, it is alleged, was aiming at the policeman.

The policeman and the prisons officer also sustained wounds in the ensuing shoot-out.

Uasin Gishu police boss Kioko Muinde said the differences emanated from a Sh100,000 loan advanced by the policeman to the Prisons sergeant attached to the Eldoret jail in 2008.

Drinking joint

“The Prisons sergeant was spotted in one of the drinking joints in Eldoret by the Kenya Army officer who summoned the police officer to come and resolve the matter,” said Mr Muinde.

They were drinking at a joint near Hawaii trading centre on the Eldoret-Iten road on Wednesday night.

“The Army man was shot from behind as he left the joint when the bullet missed the policeman,” Mr Muinde said.

The Prisons sergeant then turned the gun on the policeman, hitting him on the shoulder and abdomen. The policeman, however, managed to wrest the pistol from the Prisons sergeant and shot him in the chest, injuring him seriously.