A police post in Ntiririti, Buuri West, Meru County, was set on fire after hundreds of youths protesting prolonged power blackouts attacked police officers and barricaded a major road.
The incident occurred on Thursday night, September 24, 2026, following renewed protests over trees interfering with electricity transmission lines in the area.
According to police, about 300 youths had protested on September 23, accusing owners of trees growing along electricity transmission lines of preventing Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) personnel from cutting them down.
The youths returned to the streets at around 9.30pm on Thursday and barricaded the Kisima-Kiirua road with stones.
They also reportedly surrounded the home of a resident, pelting the compound with stones.
The protesters accused him of preventing KPLC workers from cutting trees along the transmission lines and restoring electricity to the area, police said.
Police said the trees had contributed to repeated power interruptions after heavy branches fell on the electricity lines.
A team responded in a station Land Cruiser and found the protesters burning bonfires near Ntiririti Police Post.
Upon seeing the police vehicle, the youths allegedly began pelting it with stones before advancing towards the police post.
The officers were reportedly overpowered and withdrew into the post as the youths surrounded the facility and continued throwing stones.
The protesters then set fire to the fence, with the flames spreading to the police line.
The entire police line, comprising five wooden semi-permanent rooms, was completely destroyed by fire. Police said nothing was salvaged, including government equipment belonging to the officers.
The station Land Cruiser also sustained damage, with two of its window panes shattered during the attack.
A reinforcement team from Timau Police Station later arrived and helped repel the protesters.
Police have launched investigations into the incident, while efforts to establish the identities of those involved in the destruction of the police post and property are expected to follow.
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