A Form 3 student is nursing injuries after he was shot by anti-riot police during Azimio–One Kenyan demonstration in Homa Bay town on Thursday.
The boy was accidentally caught in the melee between the police and anti-government protesters in the Shauri Yako estate within the town on Thursday afternoon.
“I was hit when some police officers repulsed protesters who were throwing stones at them. The bullet hit the right side of my head,” the boy said.
Police shot rubber bullets to disperse protesters who were throwing stones at them while blocking the Homa Bay-Rongo and Homa Bay-Kendu Bay road.
The boy, a learner at Oriwo Boys High School in Rachuonyo North subcounty said he had been sent home for fees and he hails from Koduogo village in Homa Bay Town.
Some bodaboda riders rushed the 17-year-old student to Homa Bay County Teaching and Referral Hospital for medication, where he arrived unconscious.
Doctors at the hospital said they stitched the boy and said he is currently in stable condition.
Hospital chief executive officer Peter Ogolla said the student was shot using a rubber bullet.
“The bullet caught the right side of the head. We’ve stitched the boy and we’re monitoring him before he is discharged,” Ogolla said.
“We appreciate a group of youths and bodaboda riders who picked the boy up and rushed him to the hospital for medical attention."
The doctors said the boys condition may stabilise and he can be discharged after 24 hours.