Residents of Malaba town yesterday staged violent protests following the killing of a student on Friday evening.
Ezekiel Odera is reported to have succumbed to gunshot wounds he sustained after police, who were enforcing Covid-19 rules, shot him.
The family of the deceased said the 20-year-old Form Two student at Kolanya Boys was walking in town when he bumped into police officers who were arresting people not wearing face masks.
Chaos erupted
ALSO READ: I’ve lost friends to police bullets- Nyashinski decries police brutality
READ MORE
Omanyo faults Sifuna's leadership
Protest policing must now change after judgment on police brutality
Rex Masai: Plainclothes officer at scene of murder, court told
Horror: Tuju's dramatic arrest sparks outrage over inhumane police treatment
Odera’s brother Moses Okiru said: “Police were arresting people who were not putting on face masks when chaos erupted and a bullet hit my brother.”
The deceased’s mother, Margret Okiru, accused the police of using excessive force in enforcing Covid containment measures.
“The officers who killed my son owe me an explanation. None of them visited the hospital to view the body,” he said.
ALSO READ: Kenyans react as Edgar Obare accuses police of kidnap, brutality
His father, Victor Odera, said his son died a painful death.
“My son did not deserve to die that way. We hope the culprit will be arrested and prosecuted,” he said.
Busia Governor Sospeter Ojaamong called on the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) to investigate the incident.