Mumias town residents on Tuesday morning lit bonfires barricading the Mumias-Butere Road to demand the release of Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala who spent the night in a police cell.
Police had to fire tear gas canisters to disperse the rowdy youth who had camping outside Mumias Police Station.
Malala was arrested on Monday in Nairobi over allegations of holding a prohibited gathering at Bomani grounds in Mumias contrary to health regulations on Covid-19 prevention.
There is still tension in Mumias town as residents demand his release since he was detained on Monday night at 10:30 pm.
The senator is yet to record a statement with the police.
It is alleged that officers at Mumias station failed to receive Malala with the team from DCI headquarters in Nairobi leaving him to spend the night at the station.
The senator at first refused to go into the police cells, saying that they had not been sanitized and feared contracting coronavirus disease.
A fracas ensued as youths tried to access the police station, leaving the OCS injured.
