Kitengela Inferno: Government Offices Torched, IDs and Documents Lost
Wednesday, demonstrators burned the offices of Kitengela’s assistant deputy commissioner and local chief, destroying an unknown number of uncollected national identification cards and government documents.
The offices were consumed by flames in the evening. Earlier, unruly antigovernment demonstrators and police officers engaged in gun battles, leaving two civilians with gunshot wounds.
The hundreds of protestors, the majority of whom were young people, paralyzed all commerce in the populous town as well as traffic on the bustling Namanga road.
They ignited roadside bonfires and blocked the roadway with rocks while chanting anti-government slogans. The normally tranquil town was transformed into a battlefield for an entire day.
“The expense of living is too high for the average mwananchi. The government has ignored our cries. “We will fight until the end,” a protester declared.
Five hours of gunfire and a blanket of tear gas smoke engulfed the town, compelling merchants to flee for safety after closing their stores.
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The protesters overpowered the heavily armed regular police officers who received assistance from their counterparts at Kitengela Prison.
In two separate incidents, the unruly demonstrators nearly forced their way into the Kitengela police station by pushing police officers.
Officers were compelled to construct a human barrier. Off-duty police officers emerged from their homes to repel the demonstrators. “Advance! Advance! The commander’s voice was heard giving orders to his officers, “Do not allow them to enter the police station.”
Guarding the police station adjacent to the temporary Kitengela retail market was difficult for the officers. A civilian at one stage seized riot shields from a police officer.
Additionally, police Land Cruisers were pelted with stones. Five persons, including three police officers, were injured during the clashes and rushed to the Kitengela sub-county hospital.
The wounded civilians had gunshot wounds. Hundreds of trucks transporting products from the Namanga border were held up at Maili Tisa, Nkatatoek, and Ilbisl towns, costing Kenya millions of dollars in lost trade revenue.
Kitengela Inferno: Government Offices Torched, IDs and Documents Lost
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