Boy injured by stray bullet in army firing range

Man shows stray bullets from Kenyatta barracks [Photo:Antony Gitonga]

 

By Antony Gitonga 

Naivasha, Kenya: Residents of Langalanga estate in Gilgil want the shooting-range in the nearby Kenyatta barracks relocated after a stray bullet hit a teenager seriously injuring him.

The teenager was rushed to hospital and is in stable condition after the midday incident that angered area residents.

Emotions run high in the estate which borders the barracks as area residents threatened to hold a demonstration over an increase in such incidents.

According to one of locals Moses Gitonga, the teenager was resting outside a shop when the bullet hit him on the upper hip.

Gitonga who is also the chairman Good Governance Nakuru County said that the incident occurred during a shooting practice by soldiers in the nearby barracks.

“Some of the bullets hit nearby houses while one hit the teenager and is still lodged in the body and he has been rushed to hospital,” he said.

He noted that this was the second time that such an incident had occurred in the area and called for the relocation of the shooting-range.

Gitonga said that three years ago, stray bullets hit a farmer who was never compensated despite sustaining serious injuries.

“We are perturbed by stray bullets coming from Kenyatta barracks shooting range and we call for its relocation before someone is killed,” he said.

He said that for years they had sought intervention from senior officers from the Western Brigade headquarters where the barracks is located but no action had been taken.

Confirming the incident, Naivasha OCPD Charles Kortok said that the incident had been reported in Gilgil police station.

He added that the minor had been rushed to Nakuru for an operation to remove the bullet from his hip.

“The incident has been reported to us and we are working with the military police over the same,” he said.

In 2009 area residents protested over the shooting range and the military moved in to fortify it after a middle aged man was hit by a stray bullet.