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Nakuru residents were yesterday left in shock after a police officer involved in a quarrel at a bar shot four people leaving one person dead.

County Police Commander Samwel Ndanyi said gunshots were heard at Vegas Club at around 2am.
“Police officers rushed to the scene and found that it was one of our officers who was behind the shooting and four people had been injured,” said Ndanyi.

The officer identified as Constable Nicholas Musau attached to Nakuru Central Police Station was recently reinstated after he was interdicted in December 2019.

He had been arrested on December 6, 2019 during the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) recruitment that took place in Nakuru.

Musau, then based at Matisi Police Station in Trans Nzoia county, his colleague and another member of public were apprehended by military police officers after they were found with fake KDF calling letters.

They allegedly tried to con Kipsang Wanga Sh250,000 promising to provide a calling letter. Commander Ndanyi said the injured persons were taken to the Nakuru Level Five Hospital.

“Unfortunately one of them, a bartender by the name Ann Maina, 30, was pronounced dead on arrival as the remaining three, two males and a female were received for treatment,” said Ndanyi.

Among the injured were bar owner Laura Kwasira, 26. Others included Benjamin Kote, 27, and Edwin Abung’ana, 33 who worked as private security guard at the club located on Nakuru’s Oginga Odinga Avenue.

“We have since arrested the officer who is in custody at Kaptembwa Police Station. He was arrested an hour later on one of the roads still in shock over what he had done,” said Ndanyi.

“We have gathered that this came as a result of an argument on a bill that the officer was supposed to settle. He was supposed to pay a bill of Sh13,000. A conflicting story is that he had already paid it in cash and the bartender wanted him to pay again,” said Ndanyi.

He added that it was during that argument that he whipped out a pistol and fired on the victims.

“He was supposed to be on duty and had already been booked for failing to be actively on duty. More investigations will inform further actions. He will be charged with murder,” he said.

The county police boss said that the officer had been issued with a pistol with 15 rounds of ammunition to attend to a matter earlier on.

“He was supposed to have returned the firearm and be on standby for other duties. In between, he decided to go to that club in the company of his colleagues who left him there only for the fracas to erupt,” said Ndanyi.

The top offiecer added that six spent cartridges were found at the scene while the body of the deceased was taken to Kwa Jack morgue.

Speaking to journalists at his hospital bed, injured Abung’ana said the waiter alerted them of the disturbance.

“When I got there, my colleagues told me he had identified himself as a cop when he came in. We respectfully told him to leave with his drinks,” said Abung’ana.

The security guard narrated that the cop declined to follow their instructions.

“We didn’t know he was armed because he was in civilian clothes. He stood up and moved back from us,” he said.