EMBU COUNTY: Police shot at a rowdy mob and injured two people on Wednesday as they tried to disperse hundreds of residents attempting to storm Kiritiri police station in Mbeere South sub-county.
The charged mob had rioted outside the station and threatened to set it ablaze if police did not release 11 people of Ethiopia origin the mob claimed were behind several murders and a wave of insecurity in the area.
The 11 aliens were apprehended in the morning hours by police and the members of the public as they travelled in a van.
Police put the foreigners in custody but that did not go well with the swelling mob that demanded for their release so that they could lynch them.
The irate mob claimed the men were among the gangs which have been terrorizing the area recently.
Businesses came to a standstill in Kiritiri town while Embu-Kiritiri road was closed for hours as police battled the stone throwing mob.
Police shot into the air to scare away the mob and continued the situation temporarily but as the mob swelled and largely outnumbered them they tear gassed them and called for reinforcement.
Senior police officers led by Embu county police commander John Okello and several Embu MCAs moved to the scene and pleaded with the rowdy crowd to leave to give police time to charge the suspects in court.
They tried to convince the crowd that the aliens were not in any way connected with the wave of crime which has been reported in the area.
The residents shouted down MCAs Martin Mwangi (Kiambere), Penina Mutua (Makima) and Nyaki Wamurea (Mbeti South) saying they did not want politics in security matters.
Okello told the media that police patrol will be enhanced to boost the security of the region.
The police boss said the gangs behind insecurity in the area were local saying they would increase more officers and would not allow vigilantes being formed to operate in the area.
Police later moved the 11 foreigners to Embu law court where they were charged with being in Kenya illegally.
Security situation in the area has deteriorated lately as gangs terrorize and rob residents while local leaders have threatened to arm vigilantes in case police fail to counter the attacks.
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