Govt Transfers Police After 9 Officers Injured in Narok Clash

The National Police Service (NPS) and the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) intervened after the deadly clashes between police officers and residents paralysed operations at the Duka Moja Trading Center in Narok County.

As a result of the volatile situation, the government ordered the transfer of all the police officers from two of the stations involved in quelling the Friday protests which are the Duka Moja and Ntulele Police stations.

This was announced during a peace meeting on Saturday where security officials engaged the residents in a bid to bring calm back to the area.

“I want to assure you that by Monday, we will have transferred all the officers and replaced them with a new batch,” William Ole Yiampoi, the Director of Operations at NPS, announced.

“We will not just bring any police officers but we will ensure they have a clean record and have not had any infractions in their previous posts.”

Following the death of 39 sheep after being run over by a speeding Prado on Thursday night, herders took to the highway to demonstrate the grim occurrence on Friday paralysing transport operations on the busy road.

However, the protests quickly turned violent with the protestors attacking the police and vice versa causing mayhem that took over 24 hours.

As of Saturday, three people had succumbed in the incident and nine police officers were injured in the altercation. One was flown to Nairobi for specialised treatment.

The most notable incident from the protests was when the residents cornered a police officer, chopped up his arm, and took away his firearm.

During the Saturday meeting, it was reported that the firearm had since been surrendered to the police, and calm slowly returned to the area.

The area residents also revealed they were seeking Ksh3 million in compensation for the lost sheep.

Meanwhile, IPOA launched a probe into the matter and urged the residents to cooperate with them as investigations proceed.

“I want to urge you to cooperate with us as we continue with the investigation. Be open to sharing your witness accounts because calm has been restored,” Emmanuel Lang’at, the Director of Investigation at IPOA implored.