Wamuzi News Ke
A police officer has been taken into custody following the shooting of a woman during a night vigil held in honour of the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga in Homa Bay County.
The incident has inflamed tensions in an already somber mourning environment and raised urgent questions about crowd control protocols and police accountability.
The Shooting That Shattered Vigil Calm.
According to preliminary reports, the incident unfolded late Thursday night as thousands of mourners gathered in Homa Bay town for a vigil to honour Raila’s passing.
A commotion erupted near the central vigil site, during which the officer reportedly opened fire, hitting the woman. The officer was immediately arrested and is now under investigation. Local sources say security personnel attempted to disperse a section of the crowd that had grown unruly.
It was during this intervention that the tragic shot rang out, sending shockwaves through the congregation. The woman’s condition has not been fully confirmed in media reports at this hour.
Police Move to Contain Fallout.
The swift arrest suggests an effort by national and regional security command to contain backlash. The National Police Service (NPS) is now under pressure to sketch out who authorised the deployment, what rules of engagement were in place, and whether the weapon was discharged under justifiable conditions.
In the wake of the shooting, vigil organisers are demanding transparency, accountability, and immediate medical care and investigation. Local leaders and civil society are already calling for a public inquiry, and human rights bodies have summoned official statements.
Reverberations in National Mourning.
This is not an isolated event. The handling of mourning crowds has repeatedly strained Kenya’s security apparatus in recent days — from stampedes, venue changes, and tear gas use in Nairobi to disruptions at Kasarani Stadium.
The Homa Bay shooting further underscores how public grief is colliding with institutional fragility.Critics are warning that turning mourning into battleground risks turning Raila’s funeral into a moment of national fracture.
They are calling for swift and full disclosure of all security protocols used during the vigil, and for lessons to be learned to prevent recurrence elsewhere.
