IPOA identifies police vehicle involved in Kabarak student's death

A police car at the Kenyatta National Hospital police post.[File, Standard]

The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) has revealed the registration number of the police vehicle that was involved in a fatal accident that claimed the life of a Kabarak University student in Nakuru.

The student, Joshua Limo Arekou, died in a road crash at Kabarak along the Nakuru-Ravine road on November 18.

The police van that allegedly hit him sped off from the scene, sparking outrage among the university students who staged a protest on Sunday.

Ann Makori, IPOA chairperson, said that the authority launched investigations into the incident after it was widely shared on various social media platforms.

"Preliminary investigation reveals the incident was a road traffic accident involving a police vehicle bearing registration GKB 396Z," Makori said in a statement.

She added that IPOA officers in Nakuru had visited the scene of the accident and identified some witnesses who would assist in the ongoing probe.

IPOA also said that it was awaiting the postmortem report of the deceased, which was scheduled to be conducted on Tuesday.

The authority appealed to the public to remain calm and cooperate with the investigators and urged anyone with information that could help in the case to contact them through their toll-free line.

"The Authority calls on any person who may have information crucial to this investigation, to freely volunteer it by calling our toll-free line, 1559," Makori said.