Two young men's love date in Kakamega turns tragic

At around 11pm on June 27, 2024, Boaz Katiechi and his friend Daniel Kochwa waited in the silence of the night until everyone in their Shinyulu village was asleep before they sneaked out of their parents' homes for a mission in neighbouring Khwisero, Kakamega County.

Full of anticipation, Katiechi, 28, and Kochwa, 21, refuelled their motorcycle and rode to Warembo Pub to pick up their girlfriends who were working as barmaids.

This was after calling the women to confirm that the date was still on. The lovers agreed to meet immediately after the girls finished their shift at around 11pm.

But a few hours before the agreed time, some drunk men armed with crude weapons stormed the Warembo Bar where the women worked and caused havoc, forcing the owner to call the police.

The police responded swiftly and ejected the troublemakers. The officers then stood guard outside the pub in case the unruly drunkards returned.

Bullet wounds

When the pub finally closed, the women retreated to their rented house a few metres from the bar to freshen up and leave with their dates waiting outside.

Mr Katiechi and Mr Kochwa had arrived earlier and were eagerly waiting on their motorbike parked in front of the women's house.

Unfortunately, one of the police officers spotted the two men on a motorbike and without hesitation opened fire, killing one on the spot while the other escaped with bullet wounds.

Mr Katiechi, the survivor, fled, leaving behind his friend, who was badly wounded.

"I heard a gunshot and in a split second, I saw my friend Kochwa fall off the motorcycle. In fear and panic, I sped away under a hail of bullets," said Mr Katiechi, who is receiving treatment at Butere sub-County Hospital.

There are six bullets in his body.

"It is so bad that the police opened fire without bothering to ask who we were. It really hurts me that Atulo (Kochwa) died when he came to pick me up. I don't know what to say," said Ms Montana Adhiambo, one of the women.

Her friend, Jane Angelina, wondered why the officers shot their friends.

"Why did the officers decide to shoot the innocent men in front of our house, yet they dispersed the unruly men who were terrorising the patrons in the pub without firing a single shot?" she asked.

Albert Atulo, the deceased's father, could not come to terms with the death of his son, whom he described as an obedient child he had raised single-handedly after the death of his wife 20 years ago.

"He had grown into a responsible young man and was the breadwinner of my family. It is very painful and heartbreaking to lose him," Mr Atulo said.

The shooting has attracted the attention of human rights activists and officials from the Independent Police Oversight Authority who are investigating the matter.

Brenda Kusa, the director of the Samrin Integrated Educational Support Programme accused the police officers of being trigger-happy.

Ms Kusa asked the newly appointed Inspector General of Police, Douglas Kanja, to send all police officers for refresher courses to learn how to use their firearms.

Anti-government protests

 "As Kenyans, we are very concerned about the level of ignorance of our security officers when it comes to the use of firearms. As an organisation, we are petitioning the new IG of Police to take back his boys for training and teach them how to use their guns," said Ms Kusa, noting that families who lost their loved ones at the hands of police during the anti-government protests are yet to heal but officers continue to kill innocent Kenyans.

"We will not rest. We must ensure justice for the family of the boy who was shot dead and the other who is still nursing bullet wounds," she added.

According to Ms Kusa, one of the women was dating a police officer.

"The officer had called the woman, but a male voice answered his call. He rushed to her house to check only to shoot the young man," Ms Kusa said.

However, a police report from the Khwisero Criminal Investigation Department indicates that the police officers were responding to an attempted burglary.

According to the report, three police officers, Stephen Kibet (Duty Officer), Wellington Meta (Crime Aid) and Bernard Asiama (In charge lines), responded to a report from Montana Adhiambo of a house break-in by about five men in Khwisero Township.

Khwisero sub-county police commander James Momanyi said DCI officers had launched investigations to establish the cause of the shooting.

"Let us leave it to the investigating agencies to unravel and clarify the cause of the shooting," Mr Momanyi said.

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