- The teenager was hit in the right leg, just below the knee, and was rushed to a Hospital in Thika, where she was reported to be in stable condition
- An X-ray established that the bullet had lodged in muscle tissue, and doctors have since recommended an emergency operation
A student of St Francis Girls High School, Mang’u, is nursing a gunshot wound after she was struck by a stray bullet during violent chaos that erupted at a public function hosted by Gatundu North MP Elijah Kururia in Kiambu County on Tuesday evening, forcing police to fire warning shots into the air to disperse an increasingly hostile crowd.
The teenager was hit in the right leg, just below the knee, and was rushed to Avenue Hospital in Thika, where she was reported to be in stable condition on Wednesday. An X-ray established that the bullet had lodged in muscle tissue, and doctors have since recommended an emergency operation to have it removed. She remained admitted at the facility as of Wednesday.
Police said the mayhem broke out during the distribution of foodstuffs and cash to residents at the former St Francis Primary School grounds in Mang’u location, where Kururia, accompanied by Thika Town MP Alice Ng’ang’a, had presided over a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of Mang’u Polytechnic and a proposed police station in Gatukuyu.
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Trouble began when one of the individuals handling the distribution allegedly shoved a man who was walking on crutches and struck a young man with the handle of a jembe. The incident enraged a section of youths in the crowd, who moved to confront and attack the distributor. He was whisked away and shielded inside a white lorry as the situation deteriorated, with the agitated crowd hurling stones from multiple directions.
Officers on the ground attempted to calm the crowd but were unable to contain the unrest, ultimately discharging warning shots in a bid to scatter the rowdy gathering. It was during this commotion that the schoolgirl was struck by the stray bullet.
Police have since opened investigations into the shooting, and a team of detectives visited the scene on Wednesday as part of the ongoing probe. According to police, the proposed police station in Gatukuyu is planned for a site adjacent to a local petrol station, though the exact size of the land to be used has yet to be determined. Kururia and Ng’ang’a had not issued any public statement on the incident by the time of publication.
By Masaki Enock
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