University student dies during police recruitment

A police officer takes recruits through physical exercise at the Gusii Stadium in Kisii County on Thursday, March 24, 2022. [Sammy Omingo, Standard]

A 26-year-old university student died on Thursday, March 24 during a police recruitment drive at Busia County Stadium in Matayos Sub-County.

Elijah Ochieng, a Third-Year student of Mt. Kenya University, collapsed during the physical exercises that usually precede shortlisting.

Police administered First Aid on him, but he died before getting to the hospital.

His body was taken to St. Francis Mortuary in Busia.

A postmortem will be conducted to ascertain the cause of his death.

Ochieng’s family said their kin harboured dreams of joining the Police Service despite enrolling for an undergraduate degree at Mt. Kenya University.

On Thursday, the Police Service conducted a countrywide recruitment exercise targeting to hire 5,000 new servicemen.