Tension is high in Bura Township, Tana River after a National Youth Service (NYS) officer died over the weekend in under mysterious circumstances.
Trouble started when NYS officers allegedly beat up and injured a police officer who was rushed to the hospital for treatment.
Tana River County Police Commander Walter Aliwa who confirmed the incident said the police went to the NYS camp following the incident and managed to arrest one of the suspects behind the attack.
Mr. Aliwa said following the arrest, the NYS officers marched to the police station in an attempt to rescue their colleague who was in police custody.
This led to violent confrontation between the police and the NYS officers who were armed with spades which resulted to one of the NYS officers being shot dead and several others injured.
“In an attempt to rescue their colleague, the NYS servicemen armed themselves with their tools of trade, spades, and marched to the police station to demand his immediate release.”
“Police officers on patrol on seeing the confrontation rushed to the station to get reinforcement since the NYS youths were violent and they were throwing stones,” said Mr. Alawi as quoted by KNA.
“Our officers did not shoot anybody. They only talked to them as they know that they are officers. Why they went to town in large numbers is something that we are still investigating,” added the police commander.