A 32-year-old Administration Police (AP) officer was arrested after he allegedly stabbed and killed a bar owner at Kipsaraman trading centre in Baringo County, over Ksh450 bill.
The officer, identified as Victor Ruto, is said to have been enraged after Reuben Cherotich demanded that he pays Ksh450 for the drinks he had ordered.
The officer reportedly pulled out a knife from his pocket and stabbed the 43-year old man on his neck killing him.
The Bartabwa AP camp officer was reportedly in the company of a few other people together with whom he had been drinking alcohol with at the bar.
According to Baringo County Police Commander Robinson Ndiwa, Cherotich died while being rushed to hospital.
“They picked a quarrel and fought before the officer pulled out a knife, stabbing him on the neck. The suspect has been arrested and he shall be arraigned in court as soon as possible to answer to murder charges,” said Ndiwa.
Cases of police brutality have been rampant in the country with the highest cases being recorded in 2020 according to a report by Amnesty International.
In the Missing Voices 2020 report, 157 people were killed by police in 2020 alone, with 10 disappearing in the hands of officers, terming it as the deadliest year due to the increased cases of police brutality catalysed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
"While Kenya has laws in books to address police killings, these laws are inadequate, and in most cases, they are not enforced adequately," read the report.
In a recent case, a police officer shot a truck driver in Embu County at the Kimbo weigh-bridge, along Thika Superhighway after they differed over a bribe money.
According to witnesses at the weighing bridge, the officer followed the driver to a private road, and shot him in the back after he allegedly refused to pay bribe.
