The death of a Form One student at Kajiunduthi Boys' High School after a night of running battles with anti-riot police has put Tharaka Nithi law enforcement agencies on the spot again.
The incident comes barely three months after the shooting to death of a boda boda leader that led to the transfer of the devolved unit's security chiefs.
The body of the schoolboy who hails from Nkubu in Meru County had visible injuries on the forehead and his clothes were muddy, raising questions as to whether the young man was beaten to death by police, fell into the hands of criminals outside the school in the night or accidentally fell on a hard surface while fleeing from police.
According to Tharaka Nithi County Police Commander, Zacchaeus Ngeno, the issue started at around 8pm on Monday when the students, who were in for their evening preparations, started shouting and walking out of the classrooms and within minutes, they were throwing stones and breaking windows.
Teachers tried to calm them down, but the situation worsened and they called Muthambi police station chiefs, who immediately sent officers to quell the strike and prevent further damage.
The police station is located less than a kilometre from the school, on the Meru-Embu highway.
By the time the officers arrived, some of the 1,243 students had already left the school, with some on the highway and others still inside causing damage.
According to Ngeno, the officers spoke to the students who were still inside the school and they agreed to end the strike and retreat into the dormitories.
However, the students who spoke to the media said that on arrival, the officers started shooting in the air and lobbing tear gas canisters, forcing them to scamper in all directions for safety, with some jumping over the fence.
The students claimed that those who were caught by the officers were severely beaten, while others were injured after tripping as they ran in the dark.
Residents also told journalists that they heard gunshots amidst the screams of the students and when they approached the school, they found police officers chasing the boys.
"While the post-mortem report will reveal the exact cause of the Form One boy's death, preliminary investigations show that he may have fallen fatally on a hard surface," Mr Ngeno told the media during an interview at his office in Chuka town on Wednesday.
At the scene where the body was found, police officers kept away the media and members of the public, but the first residents to discover the body said there were visible injuries on other parts of the body, suggesting that he may have been assaulted.
The body was taken to the Chuka County Referral Hospital mortuary for post-mortem and the family was informed.
The students, who spoke to the media on condition of anonymity to avoid victimisation, complained of bad food, poor studies and being forced to do all their shopping in the school canteen at exorbitant prices.
They claimed that they had been ordered to buy all their personal effects, including tissue paper, soap and shoe polish, from the school canteen.
"We have been complaining to the administration for a long time until we decided to hold a peaceful protest and that is when the teachers called the police who on arrival started dispersing us by throwing tear gas and shooting in the air," said a student.
