There was drama on Tuesday morning at the Kiptangwany Administration Police post in Elementaita Gilgil after residents stormed the post accusing AP officers in the area of being behind the death of a suspect.
According to residents, the deceased identified as Simon Ng'ang'a Gitara, a father of two, was last seen at Kiptangwany trading center at around 8.00pm Monday while drunk.
He is said to have been arrested and locked up at Kiptangwany AP camp although it was not immediately clear why he was arrested.
Officers at the AP camp denied the claims adding that the deceased was never in their custody and that his body was discovered by one of the officers behind a wooden house within the AP camp compound.
Residents, however, questioned how the officers interfered with the crime scene.
“The question we are asking ourselves is why the AP officers took the body from the scene before officers from the scene of crime arrived? We would like to know the truth concerning his death,” said Thomas Muchina.
Moses Gitara, a nephew to the deceased, said that there could have been a struggle before the deceased met his death.
The body of the deceased had a belt fastened around his neck with bruises on both wrists.
“Even if my uncle was a habitual drunkard, he never used to pick quarrels with anybody. We would like the police to come out clear on this” Veronicah Wangari said.
News of the death culminated into a drama after angry resident of Kiptangwany stormed the AP post demanding that all officers in the camp be transferred.
Police officers led by Elementaita OCS had to call for reinforcement from Gilgil Divisional Headquarters. Gilgil OCPD Sarah Koki and DCIO Joseph Owiti arrived in the company of more armed police officers.
Addressing media, OCPD Koki said the body was discovered by one of the officers who later called the OCS Elementaita to visit the crime scene.
“It is still early to make any conclusions as CID officers from Gilgil have taken up the matter and were carrying out investigations,” she said.
According to the Police Boss, the body was taken to Nakuru county government mortuary where a postmortem will be conducted to ascertain the cause of death.
Meanwhile, the OCPD called on residents of Kiptangwany to volunteer information that could assist police in carrying out investigations.