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[PHOTOS] Kabete cop shooting spree sparks protests

The residents barricaded the Kangemi area as some lit bonfires on the roads.

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by NANCY AGUTU

News07 December 2021 - 05:43
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In Summary


  • • Police said the constable Benson Imbatu attached to Kabete police station went home with his AK47 rifle and picked a quarrel with his wife Carol Imbatu.
  • • Neighbours and bodaboda riders who operate near the Heights Apartment where the officer stayed rushed to the house to check what had happened.
Kangemi residents barricade road on December 7,2021.

Demonstrations are currently ongoing in the Kabete area after a police officer shot and killed six people before committing suicide in a bizarre incident.

The residents barricaded the Kangemi area as some lit bonfires on the roads.

The residents were seen carrying tyres as some were in charge of setting them on fire.

Others carried rocks as they stationed them on strategic points on the road making it hard for vehicles to pass through.

The deceased included his wife, neighbours and bodaboda riders who had rushed to his house to check what had happened when they heard gunshots on Tuesday morning.

Police said the constable Benson Imbatu attached to Kabete police station went home with his AK47 rifle and picked a quarrel with his wife Carol Imbatu.

Neighbours and bodaboda riders who operate near the Heights Apartment where the officer stayed rushed to the house to check what had happened.

This was after they also saw a fire emanating from the house, police said.

And in the process, Imbatu stepped out with his gun blazing and felled five other people including two bodaboda riders and his neighbours in different locations near the house.

“He went on a shooting spree pursuing his targets far away from the house,” said a neighbour Jane Wanjiru who hid in her house.

“Why is he killing our boy? What did he do to him? He has killed people and some are at the Kenyatta National Hospital,” a resident said.

The incident could be linked to increasing cases of suicide within the service, which have been associated with trauma.

Officials say trauma is the main reason for such behaviour.

According to Kenyatta University research, the major factor contributing to suicide and murder among police officers in Kenya is work-related trauma.

The study found out that police are generally at the receiving end of all community problems.

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