Garissa: A row is brewing up in Garissa between a section of leaders and community members on one hand and police on the other following the death of a taxi driver this morning under unclear circumstances. Leaders and family members claim the deceased taxi operator, 25-year-old Sheikh Ahmed Omar, was shot dead by officers from the Rapid Deployment Unit (RDU) stationed at Modika, who were manning a roadblock along the Nunow-Modogashe road, while the police maintain the victim died in a self-involved accident while fleeing from police who were pursuing him.

According to Kenya News Agency, Garissa Township MP Major (Rtd) Dekow Mohamed, who was accompanied by a host of MCAs and community leaders, spoke at the Garissa mortuary after viewing the body of the deceased. He stated they will not permit police to get away with use of excessive force on community members. The leaders questioned why the incident had been reported as a road accident, despite witnesses who were in the vehicle revealing that the deceased was shot at close range by security officers.

Major (Rtd) Mohamed expressed deep concern over what he described as police excesses, highlighting that such incidents were not isolated. He recounted a previous incident in Demajale and criticized the continuation of such actions. He called for a thorough investigation by the Inspector General of Police and the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) to ensure justice is served for the family of the deceased.

On the other hand, Garissa County Police Commander Amos Ambasa provided a different narrative. He stated that the deceased attempted to escape upon encountering a security roadblock, resulting in an accident about 150 meters away. Ambasa reported that the driver succumbed to injuries from the accident, while two young passengers sustained minor injuries. He mentioned that the deceased was carrying clothing suspected to be illegally sourced from Somalia, which might have prompted his attempt to evade the police.

Ambasa confirmed that the case has been handed over to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and IPOA to determine if the police chase contributed to the driver's death. A government pathologist is expected to conduct a postmortem to establish the cause of death.