Six police officers were injured after being attacked by more than 200 youngsters who were unlawfully harvesting tea at a James Finlay estate in Bomet County, Kenya’s Rift Valley, on Monday.
The injured were part of 14 officers who were patrolling in the area.
Reports indicate that the officers were ambushed by youngsters who had invaded the plantation to gather the green leaf unlawfully.
The youths were armed with crude weapons, including stones, slingshots, pangas, catapults, and wooden sticks.
Officers lobbed tear gas in a failed attempt to disperse the crowd. The policeman retreated after expending their teargas canisters, but they were encircled by youngsters who created roadblocks.
As the officers took an alternate route, their vehicle crashed through tea bushes and became stuck in the mud.
The attackers caught up with the cops and began throwing stones at them, injuring them and forcing them to flee, leaving behind the patrol car.
“Two of the six police officers who sustained injuries are in a bad state,” said Mathews Mangira.
