Police rescue about 200 women as claims of ID buying arise in Kisumu.

OCS Kisumu Central Police Station tries to calm some rowdy members of the public who wanted to storm Jumuiya Hotel over claims that some people were buying Identity cards from women in a meeting-Photo By Dickson Odhiambo.

By Dickson Odhiambo.

September 13, 2017.

Police rescue about 200 women as claims of ID buying arise in Kisumu.

POLICE In Kisumu were forced to use tear gas canisters and fire live bullets in the air to rescue about 200 women who were having a meeting at a hotel as some members of the public claim they were being engaged in their Identity Cards buying by unknown people.

It all started when someone made a post in social media that there was an ongoing identity card buying which was taking place at a hotel behind tuskys Super Market.

A group stormed the meeting and roughed up the participants whom mostly were women from various parts of Nyanza region who were meeting under the Nyanza Women of Faith Network.

A melee ensured and a number of the participants in the meeting were injured as the group demanded to know their intention.

Some of the participants claim that they lost valuable items like phones as well as some cash amounting to sh 100,000, some laptops among other valuables.

Police came into quick action and pleaded with the rowdy protestors to vacate near the Hotel but the crowd was reluctant to heed the order forcing the police to repulse them using tear gas canisters and firing live bullets into the air to scare them away.

They engaged the police in a running battle for close to two hours after which police had to bring two lorry canters to ferry the besieged women to unknown destination under the tight police escort of three Vehicles.

Jumuiya Hotel Manager Emmanuel Waya says there was nothing like identity card buying which was taking place at the hotel.

He confirms that the hotel had booked in participants for the Nyanza Women of Faith Network meeting which started today in the morning.

He says the hotel has incur huge loses estimated to be shs 2 million following the skirmishes since part of its wall had been put down by the unruly protestors who wanted to gain entry but the police repulsed them using minimum force.

He adds that some window glasses have been damaged after the protestors pelted them with stones during the incident.

Calm was later restored but some of the protestors milled around the premise with unknown intentions.

Kisumu Central MP Fred Ouda who visited the scene pleaded for calm and said the matter must be investigated so as to ascertain the truth about the allegation of Identity Card buying.

Kisumu County Jubilee Party Chairman Zuberi Liete who too visited the scene has condemned the incident.

 He said the claims of ID buying should be properly substantiated.

ENDS: