Police repulse looters as arms lorry crashes
Rongai Divisional police boss Joseph Mwamburi. He confirmed the accident involving police lorry carrying ammunition that overturned on the Eldoret-Nakuru highway. General Service Unit officers were called to keep at bay residents who wanted to loot lorry's consignment. PHOTO | SULEIMAN MBATIAH | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- General Service Unit officers were on Thursday called to keep at bay residents who wanted to loot a police lorry carrying ammunition that overturned on the Eldoret-Nakuru highway.
- According to an eyewitness, Mr Moses Barasa, the lorry appeared to have developed braking problems along the Kibunja-Salgaa black spot at Migaa Trading Centre before it overturned, landing on the roadside.
- Residents swarmed the scene intending to loot the valuables after the news spread to the neighbourhood.
- However, the paramilitary GSU police officers stationed at the nearby Jolly Camp, who quickly arrived at the scene, together with the police officers escorting the lorry managed to repulse the rowdy crowd.
General Service Unit officers were on Thursday called to keep at bay residents who wanted to loot a police lorry carrying ammunition that overturned on the Eldoret-Nakuru highway.
According to an eyewitness, Mr Moses Barasa, the lorry appeared to have developed braking problems along the Kibunja-Salgaa black spot at Migaa Trading Centre before it overturned, landing on the roadside.
Residents swarmed the scene intending to loot the valuables after the news spread to the neighbourhood.
However, the paramilitary GSU police officers stationed at the nearby Jolly Camp, who quickly arrived at the scene, together with the police officers escorting the lorry managed to repulse the rowdy crowd.
Rongai Divisional police boss Joseph Mwamburi, who confirmed the accident, said the lorry was transporting the weapons from Eldoret to the Kenya Police headquarters armoury in Nairobi.
REINFORCEMENT
“We had to seek reinforcement from Rongai Police Station and the nearby Jolly GSU Camp to help in deterring the public from looting from the lorry,” said Mr Mwamburi. “The driver was slightly injured but he was treated at the GSU camp and discharged.”
Police had to use reasonable force to scatter the agitated looters, the OCPD added.
“We were forced to use batons, sticks and whips to repulse the rowdy crowd,” said Mr Mwamburi.
Cases of people looting from vehicles that have been involved in accidents along the dangerous Salgaa-Kibunja stretch have become rampant with some of the incidents turning fatal.
The deadliest so far was in 2009, when 115 people were killed at Sachangwan as they siphoned petrol from a tanker that had been involved in an accident after it caught fire.
In the latest incident on August 17, 2014, five people were burnt to death at Nyanja as they drew petrol from a tanker that had overturned on the busy highway.
Hundreds of villagers pelted police with stones to access the tanker, which burst into flames.
