Police Shoot and Injure Class Eight Pupil during Crackdown on Illicit Brew in Kakamega

A class eight pupil was, on Monday, shot and injured by Police in Kakamega East sub-county while heading to school when he was caught up in a confrontation between the Police and angry residents of Lukose village in Shinyalu constituency during a crackdown on illicit brew.

The minor was admitted at the Kakamega County General Hospital and is currently in stable condition.

Shing’odo sub-location Assistant Chief Mildred Gwekinza, who had accompanied the police in the crackdown, was also hurt during the chaos.

Kakamega East Deputy County Commissioner (DCC) Emmah Kibara said a combined team of Police officers and Chiefs raided the village because it is notorious for distilling and transporting chang’aa to Nairobi and other parts of the country.

“What we saw there is absurd because even the wastes from the illegal distillers from over 50 houses in the same village is discharged into a nearby river and even animals there are drunk,” she said.

The DCC said two suspects were arrested during the operation and will be arraigned in Court.

The Sub County Police Commander Daniel Mukumbu said the raid was successful after the police destroyed 40,000 litres of Kangara and uprooted bhang from the suspect’s farm.

The residents, however, claimed they were not opposed to the crackdown but to Police officers who ransacked their homes and destroying property.

The Police said they were forced to open fire to scare away the angry residents who had begun attacking them.