A day-long standoff was witnessed between police officers and the protesting Maasai herders in Suswa, Narok County.
The protests led to a fatal shooting, with at least three individuals feared dead as security forces attempted to disperse the angry crowd.
The Maasai youth and the herders, armed with clubs and machetes, engaged in running battles with the police, leaving one officer critically injured after being hacked and beaten to near death while Several others sustained injuries.
The Friday chaos erupted after a vehicle traveling towards Narok town struck and killed livestock on Thursday night.
The situation became more chaotic when police attempted to remove the carcasses from the road on Friday morning, prompting retaliation from residents who returned the dead animals to the highway, leading to the clashes.
Sankok ole Lemwesi said: “Tumesema hatufungui hii barabara, kondoo wetu arubaini polisi walilipwa kwenda kupelekea kondoo wetu fisi.”
The unrest brought transport along the Narok-Kisii road to a standstill for most of the day, leaving travellers stranded.
Motorist David Okong’o said: “Mbona mbuzi inagongwa tunagoma? Saa hii tumekwama na niko na watu wanapanda ndege hapa wamekosa flight.”
Police officers led by Sub County Police Commander Samson Thuranira and other officers visited the scene to try and calm the situation.
“Police established that a group of about 1,000 people led by the owners of the said sheep gathered and barricaded the road and riotously demanded for compensation of their killed animals,” police said in their report.
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