Irate residents in Mbaruk area on Sunday morning engaged police in running battles after a man was knocked and killed by a vehicle along the Nakuru-Nairobi highway.
Angry residents blocked the highway after a trailer hit the man a few metres from Laikipia University, Nakuru Campus.
The residents barricaded the road using stones demanding an audience with the local authority over increased cases of hit and run accidents in the area.
The police had a hard time collecting the body as the angry residents pelted them with stones. The officers were forced to lob teargas canisters in an attempt to disperse the residents who had blocked the road paralyzing transport.
Gilgil OCPD Emmanuel Opuru who confirmed the incident said the man had no identification documents on him.
Opuru said they have launched investigations into the incident and a manhunt has been launched for the driver of the trailer.
“According to witnesses, the man was killed by a hit-and-run trailer. The man had no identification documents on him. He was severely run over on the head and residents could not identify him,” said Opuru as quoted by the Standard.
Gilgil MP Martha Wangari who joined residents in the protests said many people have been knocked down and killed in the area by speeding vehicles. She criticised the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) for doing little to address the situation.
“Half of the year has already elapsed and KeNHA is still dragging its feet on our call for speed bumps. I have been engaging the directors since the year started and they have not done what we had agreed,” she said.