Policeman 'accidentally' shoots tuk tuk driver dead in Kwale

A 25-year-old tuk tuk driver died on the spot Thursday evening after a policeman "accidentally" shot him at Bixa on the Mombasa-Lunga Lunga highway in Kwale County.

Tsuma Mumbo was shot in the head by the police officer said to have been pursuing drug peddlers and users who were on the run following a raid on their hideout.

The tuk tuk was heading to Mombasa from Ukunda when the peddlers asked the driver to turn around and pick them up, eyewitness Peter Chiro said.

A few minutes later, a policeman pursuing them ordered the driver to stop and fired a bullet at the peddlers, who had jumped off the tuk tuk.

'AN ACCIDENT'

“It was entirely an accident because the officer’s intention was to shoot the peddlers but unfortunately the bullet landed in the drivers head,” he said.

Mr Chiro said that after the officer realised his mistake, he became tense and aimed the gun at himself, but before he could shoot, his colleagues rushed to him, restrained him and took away the firearm.

He added that the officer was driven away from the scene in another vehicle because his colleagues feared that angry residents would lynch him.

Matuga Deputy County Commissioner Mwangi Kahiro said police were investigating the circumstances that led to the killing.

He asked angry residents at the scene demanding justice to be patient and peaceful, promising that action would be taken should the officer be found to have committed a crime.

“We are not going to leave any stone unturned until we get to know what exactly happened because the family of the young man who has died, have a right to know the truth,” he said.