Two men were yesterday shot with arrows and four others attacked with pangas in Kaseve market, Mukaa subcounty, Makueni, over sand harvesting.
Witnesses said one man was riding a motorcycle towards Sultan Hamud town when he was attacked. The second one was attacked as he approached the market.
Mukaa police boss Andrew Mbogo did not divulge more details, saying officers are investigating.
Resident Agatha Masila said, “The attack is as a result of a lorry that was burnt on Friday by a group opposed to sand harvesting.”
Kasikeu chief Shadrack Tete said one man was shot with an arrow on his back and the second shot on his leg.
However, Mbogo dismissed
claims the attack was in retaliation for the Friday attack.
Tete said, “That is a lie peddled by ignorant residents who do not know about the incident. There is no way four people can mount a retaliatory attack.”
Following the attack a confrontation ensued and several motorcycles were destroyed. The protestors proceeded to the Mombasa-Nairobi highway, where they blocked a section of the road in Kiongwani.
The injured were taken to a private hospital in Sultan Hamud town. The attack came hours before a visit by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The national government has been blamed for illegal sand harvesting in Makueni.
Makueni Sand Authority MD Chrisphus Ileli in August said two vehicles were burnt when county askaris were attacked.
Before the attack a senior national government official had received threats on his mobile phone. He demanded that Ileli release a truck impounded by county askaris on the Makueni River bed.
