Chaos erupted along Kangundo road on the morning of Thursday, October 29, after a man was allegedly killed by a matatu while running away from police.
Referring to accounts of their members present during the demonstrations, a representative from Motorists Association of Kenya told Kenyans.co.ke that protesters engaged in running battles with the police after the incident happened.
He also noted that police wanted to arrest a suspect for allegedly not wearing a mask enraging the residents.
"We got the info from a person on the ground. What happened was that police wanted to arrest a person for not wearing a mask.
"He was allegedly knocked down by a matatu and lost his life on the spot. That made the people to react by lighting bonfires on the road, blocking it and engaging police officers in running battles," he stated.
Photos from the incident showed a completely impassable road with vehicles blocked on either side of the road.
A police officer who spoke to Kenyans.co.ke, however, denied any knowledge of death arising from the incident explaining that the riots had originated from a police crackdown.
He further disclosed that police were carrying out a crackdown on how well people were wearing their facemasks while in public.
In recent weeks, the country has been experiencing a spike in Covid-19 cases with fears rising that the state would re-introduce restrictive measures.
So far, the country has recorded 51,851 Covid-19 cases and 950 deaths with reports indicating that some medical facilities were stretched beyond capacity.
On Sunday, October 25, Two police officers were arrested in Likuyani, Kakamega county in connection with the suspected murder of Denis Lusava.
Lusava was arrested on Wednesday, October 7 for allegedly failing to wear a face mask.
After his arrest, Lusava was released on a free bond at 12.40 pm pending the filing of a P3 form.
He, however, went missing shortly after, and his lifeless body was later discovered in River Nzoia.
