A high school girl identified as Hamisa Musa is fighting for her life at the Guru Nanak hospital after she was hit by a stray bullet in Kariokor, Nairobi County.
According to online sources, Hamisa was shot in the stomach by an anti-riot police officer while she was leaving a salon in her area.
Witness statements indicate that she was in the company of her aunt when a police officer identified as Willy started shooting in the air, aimlessly.
“A police officer by the name of Willy was shooting aimlessly before a bullet struck the girl. She was accompanied by her auntie,” recounted the witnesses.
Apparently, the incident was triggered by skirmishes in the newly constructed Mwaririo market, Starehe Constituency where traders and police officers were engaged in a cat and mouse game.
Another hawker has intimated that he was the target, and the bullet hit the girl.
In another account of events just a day ago, a police officer shot dead a cobbler at Lessos, Nandi County for allegedly not wearing a mask.
Residents, stormed the streets to protest the killing of the man identified as Lazarus Kirop leading to more chaos.
However, in a statement on Thursday, Police Spokesperson Charles Owino stated that the shooting followed the arrest of a boda boda operator who was carrying two passengers.
Read Also: Man Shot By Stray Bullet At Bandari Plaza Rooftop
According to Owino, the boda boda operators attempted to snatch a rifle from the arresting officer leading to the fatal shooting of the 40-year-old.
“Officers then withdrew back to the station but were followed by a riotous mob who caused damage to sections of the station and burnt down the house of the Officer Commanding Station (OCS). Attempts to bar the irate crowd from further causing destruction to the station were in vain, leading to the fatal shooting of two more, ” the statement reads.
The Inspector-General of Police Hillary Mutyambai ordered the immediate arrest and suspension of the police officer with investigations into the incident said to have commenced.
Instances of police brutality have been on the increase in the country, with authorities suggesting more training to avert the situation.
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