A 42-year-old police corporal assigned to Nyeri’s Critical Infrastructure Protection Unit (CIPU) is on the run after shooting his superior during an argument over duty allocation.
The officer attached to a station in Mweiga town is accused of committing the offence while on duty at the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation on the outskirts of the town.
Nyeri County Police Commander Benjamin Rotich confirmed the incident.
A superior officer was on Sunday, December 16, conducting patrols and overseeing officers at their work stations when he realised the colleague on the run was intoxicated.
He then decided to relieve the corporal of his duties and instructed him to return to a waiting vehicle, pending arrangements for his replacement.
It was then that the officer shot at the senior using his rifle. He shot and injured him on the right hand and another in the waist, lodging in his body.
He was disarmed by the other officers present and bundled into the waiting car. He, however, managed to jump out and escape, the police said.
He entered a private vehicle and fled to an unknown destination while still in his police uniform.
The Kenyan Police believe this is another case of police attempted murder and is linked to stress from personal and family issues.
The injured officer is hospitalised at the Mathari Hospital in Nyeri, police said.
Cases of police attempting murder or committing the same have been on the rise amid calls to address trauma in the service.
