The lorry torched by Madogo area residents who demonstrated on Garissa-Nairobi road against the killing of two watchmen.[Photo-Victor Wanaswa]
The murder of two-night watchmen at Madogo trading center on the Garissa - Mwingi highway last night sparked riots from hungry residents who lit bonfires on the busy road paralyzing transport for over 6 hours.
It took reinforcement from Garissa town police station after their colleagues from Madogo were overpowered to disperse the angry rioters who were hurling stones at them.
The police were forced to use tears gas and live bullets to disperse the rowdy crowd that had blocked the highway. Four people were allegedly injured by stray bullets during the melee.
A canter belonging to the hardware was burned and several building materials looted during the riots.
The rioters were hungered by allegations that a watchman was murdered on the same day in 2014.
Those who spoke to the press while condemning the looting and destruction of property urged the police to investigate the murder and ensure those behind it are brought to book.
According to Abdiwelli Loka who was among the first to arrive at the scene one of the watchmen was slit in the throat while his colleague was strangled using a rope as they slept.
They murderers made away from a safe with an unknown amount of money.
Their bodies were removed to the Garissa referral hospital mortuary for postmortem.
“We are demanding the police to go to the bottom of these killings because something is not adding up. We need to be told the truth, this is not the first time such killing is happening,” said one of the youth protesters who requested anonymity.
UN workers were also caught up in the confrontation between the angry youth and the police, they were forced to park his vehicle at a petrol station to wait for clearance.
They were heading to Nairobi.
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