Moi University students torch police vehicle in insecurity protest

Police vehicle goes up in flames at Moi University, Main Campus as students staged protests following the rape and murder of one of them. (Photo:Elid Kipsang/Standard)

A police car was Sunday burnt by Moi University students protesting the killing of a fellow student.

The police had gone to retrieve the body of a third year student when her colleagues angered by insecurity in the region pelted them with stones.

"Why are you coming to take the body yet you cannot protect students from killers," shouted one student at the officers.

The body of Charity Maina was discovered on Sunday morning by church goers sparking anger among students who claimed that insecurity had increased in the area.

According to her close friends who sought anonymity, the deceased spent most of her time at the library on Saturday night before her killing.

In a dramatic move, the officers were denied access to the road after loading the body of the deceased in their car and had to flee for their lives. One of the officers claimed they were overpowered and had to retreat.

The body was later removed and taken to a mortuary in Eldoret town by a university ambulance while the police car was turned upside down and burnt.