Deputy OCS Charles Mwai Mureithi of Lumakanda Police Station in Lugari, Kakamega County, died in a road accident on Monday morning.
The 3am accident happened when the GKB 354T police vehicle he was travelling in hit an oncoming fuel tanker.
The police boss's driver Bramwel Sarai sustained injuries and was rushed to Lumakanda Hospital and later referred to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret.
The police vehicle had another occupant, Abdikadir Mohamed, who was being rushed to the hospital, after being involved in another accident in the same area. He also lost his life.
The driver of the KCH 264N/ZE 3223 fuel tanker was travelling from Webuye direction towards Eldoret when he swerved the cabin of his vehicle to avoid a head-on collision, but the tank compartment hit the police vehicle throwing it into a ditch.
ODM Communications Officer Philip Etale eulogised the departed police boss as one of the finest officers in the country.
"Mureithi has been very instrumental in fighting criminal elements in Lugari and in his tenure, crime in Lugari has gone down remarkably.
"To the family of my friend Mureithi, may the good Lord grant you the strength to overcome the loss," he posted on Facebook.
In 2017, Lumakanda Police Station was named the best police station by the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA).
The cleanliness of the station stood out as well as the separation of police cells by age, gender and disability of arrested persons.
