UPDATE 6.00 PM: Two people were shot dead as police clashed with protesters in Lessos, Nandi town.
9 other sustained injuries during the running battles that ensued as protesters demanded justice following the death of a cobbler.
The protesters also torched the office of an Officer Commanding Station (OCS) in the massive protest against police brutality.
UPDATE 2.00 PM: Protesters in Lessos town, Nandi County identified the alleged killer as a junior police officer stationed in the area.
They demanded justice for the slain shoe-shiner even as traffic on the Kapsabet-Nandi highway remained paralyzed.
Protesters claimed that the cobbler and shoe shiner was shot dead after refusing to pay a Ksh50 bribe for failing to wear a face mask.
Hundreds of protesters took to the streets in Lessos town, Nandi County on Thursday, June 25, following the death of a local cobbler and shoe shiner.
His body was found lying by the roadside in the morning, with blood flowing from his head in what was suspected to be a gunshot wound.
A crowd gathered around the body before emotions ran high and protests began as residents accused a local police officer of causing his death.
They set car tyres on fire and chanted anti-police slogans, demanding justice as they protested on the Kapsabet-Nandi Highway, paralysing traffic.
Boda boda riders in the area joined in the protests which were still ongoing by the time of publication and demanded to be addressed by police.
They maintained that they would not relent until action was taken on the alleged perpetrator whom they accused of terrorising area residents.
Protesters described the slain shoe-shiner as an honest hardworking man with no known involvement in questionable dealings, seeking answers on the circumstances surrounding his death.
They sat in the middle of the road beside the fires, screaming and chanting as frustrated drivers waited, unable to proceed with their journeys.
This was yet another the latest case of reported police brutality and extra-judicial killings with a number of protests witnessed in Nairobi since March 2020.
There has been a reported surge in complaints of police misconduct since enforcement of the nationwide curfew began as part of Covid-19 restrictions.
The reported surge is corroborated by statistics from the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) that on June 2, revealed investigations into the deaths of 15 civilians linked to curfew enforcement had been launched.
Other than the alleged killings, IPOA noted that it was investigating 31 incidents where victims sustained injuries linked to the actions of police officers during curfew enforcement.
IPOA disclosed that since the end of March 2020, 87 complaints against the police had been reported.
Watch a video of the protests below:
