Cops and corpses as minor dies at a police roadblock
Nyamira County roadblock mounted along Kisii-Keroka road cost a child’s life who had breathing complications.
According to the four-months-old child’s grandfather, baby developed breathing complications that worsened on Saturday night prompting them to rush her to Gesima village at 7pm for Gucha Hospital.
Doctors at the facility attended to the baby up to 9:40pm however they told them that the baby had developed lung complications and referred them to Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital(KTRH).
The grandfather hired a taxi to take the baby and her mother, a 16-year-old Form Four student, to the hospital about 25km away.
However, about 10 police officers who were manning the roadblock mounted on Kisii-Keroka road, outside Keroka Police Station barred the taxi from going past the roadblock.
The taxi driver explained that he had been hired to take the sick child to hospital but an argument ensued.
But police at Keroka refuted claims that the taxi was held up for 40 minutes. They said the vehicle was delayed for only 15 minutes because of a traffic jam at the roadblock.
The police accused the taxi driver of defying Covid-19 restrictions, insisting that it was late and after trying to negotiate with them for about 40 minutes, the driver opted to look for an alternative route to get to the hospital.
Upon reaching the hospital an hour late, the doctors told the family that the child had already died.
Police officers have been accused of using excessive and sometimes lethal force to enforce a curfew and also carrying out extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances.
