More than 50 families were forced to evacuate their homes in Chepchabas, Konoin, Bomet County, on Sunday, June 5, after General Service Unit (GSU) officers conducted an unexpected night operation.
Speaking to the press, affected families noted that the officers left a trail of destruction and injuries during the raid organised to hunt down suspects alleged to have attacked a local police station and burnt down a car
Some of the victims claimed that the police officers threatened to harm them if they returned to the contested tea plantation.
Several victims were forced to flee their homes in the middle of the night and seek refuge in neighbouring villages during the Sunday dawn raid.
Those who spoke to the media noted that they were living in fear and were not sure when they will be able to return to their homes.
However, Bomet County Commissioner, Josephat Ngunjiri, explained that the operation was only meant to arrest the suspects and no one was injured by the GSU officers.
The commissioner noted that the officers were in the area to enforce a court order that had been issued against the illegal tea pluckers that had attacked Konoin Police Station.
On the other hand, the families vowed to seek justice for the attack by the GSU officers, noting that they will file a complaint with the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA).
The operation came against the backdrop of violent protests in which a group of tea pluckers on Monday, May 15, attacked the Konoin Police Station in protest of the low prices they are being paid for their tea.
As a result, six police officers attached to the police station sustained serious injuries while a police car was torched.
The attack on the families is the latest in a series of incidents of violence in Bomet County. In recent months, there have been a number of clashes between the illegal tea pluckers and farmers on one side and a local farm over rates.
The farmers claimed that they are being paid as little as Ksh10 per kilogram of tea, which is not enough to cover their costs of production.
