Police have launched a manhunt for the driver and conductor of a matatu involved in a hit-and-run incident in Nairobi.
The incident left a traffic police officer seriously injured at Kihunguro Roundabout along the Thika-Nairobi service lane.
The incident occurred at about 7:10 pm on Friday as the police officer who is attached to the Ruiru Traffic Base was on traffic management duties with fellow officers.
According to police, the officer approached a Toyota Hiace matatu after it allegedly stopped to pick up passengers at an undesignated point.
As the officer engaged the crew, the conductor allegedly grabbed him by the collar and pulled him towards the sliding door.
His left trouser leg became trapped in the door before he fell onto the road.
The driver is said to have sped off immediately, dragging the officer for several metres along the tarmac.
The officer sustained a fracture to his left hip joint and was rescued by fellow officers before being rushed to Medilife Hospital in Ruiru.
He was admitted in stable condition.
Police said the driver fled the scene, and efforts to trace the matatu, its driver and the conductor are ongoing as investigations continue.
This comes barely a week after a routine night patrol in Nairobi's Kamukunji area turned violent after a police constable was slashed several times with a panga, forcing a fellow officer to shoot dead the attacker.
The dramatic incident unfolded at about 8.30 pm on Monday along Racecourse Road, where police said an unidentified man armed with a panga launched a sudden attack on the officer.
The constable sustained multiple deep cuts to the back of his head before a colleague intervened and opened fire, fatally shooting the assailant.
Police said the responding officer accidentally set his firearm to automatic mode instead of single-shot, leading to the discharge of 11 rounds of 7.62×39mm ammunition during the confrontation.
The injured officer was rushed to a nearby clinic for emergency treatment before being transferred to Nairobi West Hospital, where he was admitted in fair condition.
Nairobi police boss Issa Mohamud said the officer is stable and recovering in hospital.
