Police station burnt in Nyamira after teen shot during protest
Officers’ houses within the compound were also vandalised and looted in the wave of destruction that followed.
Tension gripped Bonyunyu village in Nyamira County after angry residents stormed and burnt down a police station on Tuesday, following the shooting and serious injury of a 19-year-old during confrontations with law enforcement.
According to police, the mob first looted the Itibo Patrol Base before setting it ablaze. Officers’ houses within the compound were also vandalised and looted in the wave of destruction that followed.
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Authorities have confirmed that no firearms were stolen and that all weapons in the station's armoury remained intact.
The chaos began earlier in the day when a group of students held a protest outside the office of a local Member of the County Assembly.
Although the reasons for the demonstration were not immediately clear, the situation escalated as more residents joined in.
Anti-riot police were dispatched to disperse the growing crowd, during which a 19-year-old man was shot in the stomach.
The shooting enraged villagers, sparking a violent march to the Itibo Patrol Base. The crowd reportedly overwhelmed the officers at the station, set the facility on fire, and damaged the nearby police residences. Additional officers were later sent in to contain the unrest.
Nyamira South Sub-county Police Commander Elizabeth Wakuloba visited the scene and confirmed that investigations were underway into both the shooting and the destruction of the station.
“We are treating this matter with urgency and seriousness,” she said.
The injured man was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he remains in critical condition.
In a separate incident in Menyenya village, still in Nyamira County, a man was arrested after he allegedly set fire to two houses belonging to his family. Police said the motive behind the act remains unclear.
Villagers who witnessed the event apprehended the suspect and handed him over to police, who have since launched investigations.
Elsewhere in Nairobi's Savannah area, a suspected robber was shot dead by police during a foiled robbery on Sunday night.
According to police, the suspect and his accomplices had been attempting to rob locals when an alarm was raised. Officers from Buruburu Police Station responded swiftly, fatally shooting one of the gang members while the others escaped.
The suspect’s body was taken to the mortuary for a post-mortem as the search for his accomplices continued.
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