Two youths protesting against joblessness shot dead
Two youths protesting against joblessness shot dead
Two youths protesting against joblessness shot dead
On Tuesday, February 20, a fight broke out between the young people and the police in Marachi, Busia, resulting in the reported shooting deaths of two of them and injuries to multiple others.
The two were protesting against Busia Governor Paul Otuoma, whom they accused of ignoring the many difficulties they faced. They belonged to a young group called the Marachi Jobless Youths.
They said that the unemployment rate had increased dramatically, which was one of their complaints.
The youth and police engaged in a continuous battle for the third day in a row, prompting Mwachaunga Chaunga, the county commissioner, to step in.
They were cautioned, meanwhile, not to disturb the quiet or interfere with local businesses’ activities.
The young people defended themselves by saying that the governor had broken their agreement and disregarded his responsibilities.
The locals also said that the governor had denied them access to important government functions and the distribution of commercial booths in Busia town.
“They demolished our kiosks and promised to build modern shops for us. Instead, he is allocating and selling the spaces to the rich people in this area,” one resident stated.
Another one lamented that his husband contacted her to meet him at Egesa Hospital, where he showed up while bleeding profusely from gunshot wounds. Police, allegedly whisked him away before he could see the doctor and hasn’t been seen ever since.
“Two landcruisers showed up at the hospital and took him away. I haven’t seen him since then,” she claimed while speaking with the media.
Busia County Commissioner Mwachaunga Chaunga promised to deal with perpetrators and assured the residents that he would liaise with the police to deploy more security to the area.
“We want peace. We should talk if there is a problem, not fight. We can’t have the public fighting the government anyhow,” Chaunga stated.
In related incidents, five people were on Tuesday killed by bandits in the Elgeyo Marakwet, Baringo and Samburu counties.
Bandits, in one of the cases, ambushed and killed a 59-year-old man in Baringo North and two others in Marakwet East, before fleeing with their cattle.