On Tuesday, April 4, a patient reportedly died from shock after police officers opened fire at the King Fahad Hospital in Lamu County.
Medics at the hospital confirmed the demise, adding that the patient passed away while securing the patients at the facility. This was after an irate mob stormed the hospital in retaliation for a police officer accused of strangling a motorist to death.
Lamu Assistant County Commissioner Philip Oloo stated that the officers were forced to shoot in the air to disperse the charging crowd.
The youth, according to the police officers, wanted to revenge by lynching the accused law enforcer.
"The motorist was arrested by our officers but swallowed the piece of evidence immediately after the arrest.
"Our officers tried to extract the exhibit, and it is alleged that in the process, the deceased was strangled and pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital,” he explained, with reports alleging that the substance consumed (drugs) is illegal and banned in the country.
The mob turned on the officers as they moved the deceased from the crime scene to the hospital. One of the officers sustained serious injuries after the youth physically assaulted him.
His colleagues rescued him, but the relentless crowd followed them, pelting stones at the facility and thus causing panic among patients and staff.
Patients were whisked to safety as a team of officers was deployed to reinforce the officers and restore calm.
Oloo condemned the attack on uniformed men and called for more tolerance from the members of the public. In addition, he assured the public that the allegations against the cop would be investigated.
Meanwhile, an autopsy will be conducted on the deceased's body to determine the cause of death.
The second reported incident was of residents attacking police officers at a medical facility. In Kuria, Migori County, an agitated crowd pelted stones at officers who protected a suspect who took cover at a hospital's maternity ward.
