By Collins Wanzallah
A police officer was arrested and booked at Kakamega Central Police Station on Wednesday night after allegedly shooting a tuk-tuk operator in Kakamega town.
According to the report entered in the Occurrence Book (OB) under number 102/28/08/2024 at 22:30 hours, Sergeant Nehemiah Kiprono, the officer in charge of the Kakamega Police Station armoury, stated that Police Constable Nathan Bett, who was deployed as a court orderly, returned a Ceska pistol (serial number G6732) with 13 rounds of ammunition on 28 August 2024.
The report indicated that after further inquiry, it was established that Police Constable Nathan Bett had discharged two rounds of 9mm ammunition during a scuffle between himself and an unknown tuk-tuk crew along Kakamega-Kisumu Road. The incident occurred after the tuk-tuk crew allegedly refused to stop and allow the officer to alight at the gate of Kakamega Police Station.
Sergeant Kiprono added that Constable Bett believed the tuk-tuk crew had intended to kidnap him, which led to the shooting.
Following the incident, an investigation was launched, and police in Kakamega identified the shot tuk-tuk operator as Derick Chibini Luhya, aged 28.
“He was shot and sustained two gunshot wounds – one on the left shoulder and another that penetrated the right collarbone and exited through the left collarbone during the altercation with Police Constable Nathan Bett,” the OB report added.
Chibini was initially rushed to Mukumu Dispensary and later referred to Oasis Multispeciality Hospital in Kakamega town, where he is currently admitted and reported to be in fair condition, according to police investigating the matter.
Following the incident, Constable Bett was arrested and placed in a cell, awaiting charges of attempted murder.
The police report also recommended that action be taken against the officer in charge of the armoury for issuing a Ceska pistol to a lower-ranking member of the service. The weapon is normally allocated to officers of the rank of Inspector of Police and above.