Scores injured as rivals groups clash over quarry business

Rift Valley
By Peterson Githaiga | Sep 02, 2024
Quarry in Ngelani, Athi River sub-county, Machakos county, where scores were injured after two groups clashed over at the weekend. [Peterson Githaiga, Standard]

Several people were injured after two groups clashed over a multi-million quarry business in Ngelani, Athi River Sub-county, Machakos county.

Chaos erupted over the weekend after locals clashed with strangers who were reportedly out to take over their quarries.

The clashes said to have lasted for more than an hour in the Ngelani-Phase Five quarries left several people injured after they were shot with arrows and slashed with machetes.

Some victims were treated in local health facilities and discharged while two people who were in critical condition are admitted to Kenyatta National Hospital.

Witnesses and residents claimed that the strangers believed to be hired goons have been ganging up with some officers from Mlolongo Police Station in an attempt to evict them from the ancestral land to continue minting millions from the quarries.

"The goons with the help of rogue police officers have been unleashing terror on us, How can senior police officers accept to be receiving weekly bribes from the goons at our expense," a resident claimed.

Mlolongo East Sub County Police Commander Anderson Mbai said that he was away when the clashes erupted.

"I'm aware of this incident however, I'm currently attending training away from my workstation," said Mr Mbai.

A rogue police officer who was dismissed from the service for deserting duty has been adversely mentioned in the alleged quarry takeover.

An administrator in the area has also been accused of running the quarries in collaboration with the goons.

The community has petitioned the Inspector General to investigate police officers implicated in the scheme.

According to the DCI report in Athi River and Mlolongo police stations, some notorious goons have active court cases.

Share this story
Falling crude oil prices raise hope of relief at the pump
News of a deal to end the Iran-US war earlier this week has seen prices fall to below $100 per barrel for the first time in months.
Kenya's first dollar-denominated green property fund oversubscribed as investors seek hard-currency returns
TRIFIC CEO Brenda Mbathi described the oversubscription as a strong endorsement of the quality of the underlying assets and the resilience of our business structure.
Why US has beaten China to clinch Kenya's Sh9.7tr minerals deal
America has struck a preliminary minerals deal with Kenya, securing a foothold in one of the world’s largest untapped rare earth deposits worth about Sh9.7 trillion. The deal edges out China.
From financing to procurement: Who is fooling whom in JKIA expansion deal?
The government has denied contracting controversial businessman Wicknell Chivayo’s firm IMC Construction Kenya the contract to modernise and expand the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. 
Informed consumer is key to dealing with fake motor insurance certificates
Many victims are not intentionally breaking the law but are ordinary motorists who purchased insurance in good faith but were deceived by rogue and often unlicensed agents.
.
RECOMMENDED NEWS