The mother of a form three student, Jacinta Achieng', killed by a stray bullet during a police fracas in Kisumu town on Wednesday, May 10, noted that she had last talked to her deceased daughter a few hours before the tragedy.

Speaking to the press, the mother disclosed that she sent her daughter to purchase her personal effects in preparation for school re-admission.

During the errand, Achieng' was hit by a stray bullet fired by a police officer during an altercation between traffic officers and a rogue matatu driver.

"I was so shocked to learn that my child had died because I had sent her to town because she was expected to return to school. 

"When she went to town to buy a few of her personal effects is when she met the tragedy. I am so sad because my daughter was killed like a thief," stated the mother.

The student, who was aged 19 years, was shot in the chest while three other individuals who were in the vicinity sustained gunshot injuries.

According to witnesses, Achieng' was a pillion passenger on a motorbike when the incident took place.

Police Commander Statement

Kisumu Police Commander Alphonce Wambua confirmed to the press that the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) had launched investigations into the incident.

So far, eight police officers attached to Kisumu Central Police Station have recorded statements alongside witnesses from the scene.

"It will be communicated later from IPOA who have been directed to take it over because we, the police, cannot investigate ourselves," Wambua noted.

The tragedy, which occurred on the morning of Monday, May 8, happened from a shootout following a car chase between the police officers and a defiant matatu driver who sped past a roadblock into the Juakali area.

First responders rushed the student to the nearby hospital for treatment on board a Tuk-Tuk, but she was pronounced dead on arrival.