A police officer attached to Sunton Police Station in Nairobi was shot dead on Monday following a battle with conductors at Hunters Stage, Kasarani.
According to a police report, the officers were conducting an operation of conductors and Kamageras without uniforms and managed to arrest several suspects.
Kamageras, also known as parking boys, are stationed at particular stages to assist touts to fill matatus.
The situation, however, escalated when the area residents were angered by the arrests and confronted the detectives, demanding the release of the touts.
Following the scuffle, the angry mob attacked the officers, who retaliated by firing several gunshots.
One of the officers was, however, shot in the forehead with a stray bullet exiting on the back of the head.
The detective was rushed to St. Francis Community Hospital, where he later succumbed to the injuries.
"It was unclear who shot him, and investigations have been commenced to establish the same," the notice read in part but did not clarify whether the police were shot in friendly fire or retaliating armed men.
The officer's body was moved to the Kenyatta University Funeral Home pending post-mortem.
According to the Traffic Act, Section 103 A requires every driver and conductor of a public service vehicle to wear a special badge and uniform.
"The uniform referred to shall be prescribed by the Registrar of Motor Vehicles and shall, in the case of a driver, be navy blue in colour and in the case of a conductor, be maroon in colour," reads part of the Act.
"The special badges required under subsection shall be provided by the Registrar of Motor Vehicles upon satisfaction of all requirements and upon payment of the prescribed fee."
Further, all drivers and conductors are required to possess a certificate of good conduct issued by the relevant authority.
Ahead of the festive season, police officers, in conjunction with National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) officials, have been conducting operations to ensure motorists adhere to the traffic rules.
