Itibo Police Station in Nyamira Set Ablaze by Locals After Student Shot Dead by Police

NYAMIRA, Kenya, Jul 9 – Tension gripped Nyamira’s Itibo area on Wednesday after rioting students torched the local Police Patrol Base following the shooting of a student from Nyamira National Polytechnic.

According to a police report filed at Bonyunyu Police Station under OB No. 06/8/7/2025, the unrest began when students staged a demonstration demanding the transfer of their School Principal and the construction of a feeder road, which they said becomes impassable during the rainy season.

The protest quickly escalated as the group advanced toward the Itibo Ward MCA’s office, with what police alleged was an intention of torching it prompting the deployment of officers from the nearby patrol base to restore order.

In the chaos that ensued, the students turned on the police facility, setting fire to the report office desk, vandalizing rental houses where officers resided, and destroying nearby kiosks run by women traders.

Police said they fired blanks into the air in a bid to disperse the crowd but during the confrontation, a 19-year-old student identified as Brian Arisa Aranda was shot in the abdomen.

He was rushed to Ibara Mission Hospital for treatment, where he succumbed to his injuries, sparking even greater public outrage.

By nightfall on Wednesday, an irate mob had returned to the station and set parts of the Itibo Police Patrol Base ablaze.

The rioting students also damaged rental units housing officers and threatened to lynch the officer believed to be involved in the shooting.

Senior Nyamira North Sub-County security officials, including Sub-County Police Commander Elizabeth Wakuloba, the Sub-County Criminal Investigations Officer (SCCIO), and the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) from Bonyunyu, arrived at the scene to assess the situation.

Nyamira County Criminal Investigations Office has launched a probe into the shooting and subsequent destruction of property.