This year’s Mashujaa Day celebration in Kericho County turned tragic after four women were reported to have died.
According to a police report filed at Kericho Police Station, the four died after a stampede caused by a lady who was selling tea at the entrance of Gate C of the Kericho Green Stadium.
It was reported that the lady accidentally spilled hot tea in the fire which saw members of the public panic after mistaking it to be teargas lobbied at them.
“It was reported by police officers who were on duty at Kericho Green Stadium where Mashujaa Day celebrations are to take place that there was a lady selling tea outside the stadium who accidentally spilled hot tea in the fire near gate C along the public road,
“As a result, members of the public panicked and mistook it to be teargas thrown at them. Several people who wanted to gain entry to the stadium were injured and rushed to Kericho County Referral Hospital where it was confirmed that four women had already succumbed,” the police report said in part.
Police said several other people, including officers, were injured in the melee.
Among the injured were three police officers, with one sustaining a fracture on the right leg, another having a cut wound on the right eye, and the third officer suffering a head injury.
Also injured were two Community Health Promoters one with a neck injury and the other with injuries on the back and left leg, police said.
A total of 13 victims sustained injuries, with four of them experiencing soft tissue injuries, while the others had injuries on their backs, legs, shoulders, and chests. The injured individuals range in age from 17 to 67 years old.
The event was presided over by President William Ruto, who arrived at 10 a.m., long after the incident.
