Three detectives were on Sunday injured after they were stoned by rowdy youths who were resisting the arrest of a suspect at Lomut trading centre in West Pokot.
The DCI officers wanted to arrest a man believed to be selling ammunition.
West Pokot county police commander Jackson Tumwet condemned the incident. He said the officers had been informed by their counterparts in Baringo that the suspect had planned to transport the ammunition to the area.
“They went to arrest him in the company of police officers and national police reservists but the suspect resisted. About 20 sympathisers suddenly started throwing stones at the officers," Tumwet said.
The suspect took advantage of the commotion and escaped in a lorry towards Baringo East, he said.
The injured officers were taken to Sigor Subcounty Hospital where they were treated and discharged.
“The 49-year-old man has been tracked from Baringo for a long time. He has been selling the ammunition for years and we suspect he was coming to either sell or buy,” the police boss said.
He said police officers have launched a hunt for the suspect.
Pokot Central deputy county commissioner Were Simiyu warned residents against sympathising with criminals. He said such people were the cause of insecurity along the border with Turkana and Baringo counties.
Simiyu said the suspect was a criminal who must be arrested.
“The man resisted arrest because he is a criminal. The people who aided him to escape will be arrested. We can not entertain those taking the law into their own hands," Simiyu said.
