A student from Maziwani Primary school, Kilifi County is nursing a gunshot wound after police officers randomly fired at a group of protesters in an eviction exercise which turned rowdy.
The defiant youth were furious on how the matter was being handled. Despite efforts to calm them down, the irritated youth pushed further with the objection.
Violence erupted after section of the youth began throwing stones at the armed police team which prompted the officers to shoot in the air to disperse the rowdy crowd.
It was then that a stray bullet hit the class 6 pupil, wounding his leg. He was rushed to Malindi Sub County Hospital.
Malindi Sub County Commissioner Jeff Lekuta, confirmed incident. He stated that the rowdy youths were to blame for the violence citing that they initiated the assault on the police officers. He also noted that two people from the chaotic protests had been arrested.
Area residents alleged that the police officers were in collusion with an Asian businessman who had planned to evict them out of a controversial parcel of land in Furunzi, Malindi.
This, they claimed, was illegal since the businessman lacked a title deed for the land.
Mercy Wanjira, a resident who lives in the disputed land, was aggrieved by the horrid conditions that they had been subjected to following threats from the businessman to kick them out.
She noted that the businessman had initially set the price for the parcel of land at a rate of KSh200, 000 per plot. This figure, she said, rocketed when he hiked the price and demanded Ksh 1 million each.
“The police ought to look out for the interests of the residents and not of the businessman. If he claims he is the owner of the land, let him produce the title deed then,” Wanjira spoke to a local media house.
Kenyan police officers are increasingly on the spot over the use of excessive force, especially when dealing with protesters.
