Tour operators block road after driver’s death at a police station

Tour operators protest the death of a colleague at a police station (PHOTO: Ndegwa)

Transport along the busy Nyeri-Nyahururu road was for the better part of Friday paralysed after tour operators blocked it.

They were protesting the death of one of their drivers who collapsed at Ndaragwa police station immediately after an arrest over traffic offence.

He was arrested while nearing Ndaragwa town coming from Wiyumiririe town for allegedly over speeding.

The 58-year-old man an employee of Pollmans Travel Agencies was ferrying tourists when the incident happened.

The operators demanded an explanation of what occurred before his death.

"We demand to know what transpired as our colleague was healthy before being arrested. We read an ulterior motive behind his death," said one of the drivers David Lotee.

He claimed that the driver might have been tortured and that caused his death

"Police have always been brutal and they might have tortured him to death. That is why we demand a probe into this matter. We will not rest until we know the cause," he noted.

But according to Ndaragwa sub-county police commander Timon Odingo, the driver fell down at the station when being booked on the occurrence book.

“We took him to Ndaragwa health center only for him to be pronounced dead. We are yet to know the cause of his death,” said.

He called on the operators to be calm and await for a full postmortem report to know the cause of death.

The body is lying at the Nyahururu County referral hospital mortuary.