Police in Homa Bay were forced to lob teargas canisters at hundreds of boda boda riders who stormed the station demanding that a suspected criminal be handed over to them.
The riders had earlier on gone to the home of the suspect at Olodo village in Homa Bay Town constituency and attempted to torch his house.
The boda boda riders accused the suspect of perpetrating robbery with violence in the area and wanted to lynch him.
“The riders stormed the home and assaulted the suspect with crude weapons. They set ablaze the house where the man was in but the fire was put out,” a resident said.
Police, who got wind of the incident, rushed to the scene before rescuing the suspect who is accused of being armed with a gun which he uses to threaten people.
During the fracas, riders claimed the suspect fired in the air to scare them.
“Police arrived at the scene and rescued him. The man had two guns,” one of the riders alleged.
The security officers at the station detained more than 20 motorcycles after the riders took to their heels when police hurled teargas and fired rubber bullets at them.
County Police Commander Samson Kinne said they plan to charge the riders as an example to others who may have the same intention of storming police stations.
“It is an act of impunity and we will not allow it to happen,” he said.
The commander said the officers also managed to put out the fire before it burned down the house.
Kinne said his officers have established that the gun which was recovered can fire.
“My officers went back to the scene to investigate who the owner of the gun was. They however did find any leads,” he said.
The riders though insisted that the recovered gun belongs to the suspect they were trying to lynch.
Later in the evening, the riders went to Homa Bay police station with the intention of taking the suspect out and lynching him after being moved from Rodi Kooany to Homa Bay Police station.
Attempts by security officers to calm them down did not bear fruit forcing the Officers to use force to drive them out of the station.
Kinne said that action will be taken against all riders who left their motorcycles behind.
“No one has the right to storm a police station. There are no laws allowing civilians to take out or to demand a release of a suspect,” he said.
