Police officer arrested after shooting woman during Raila vigil in Homa Bay

A police officer has been arrested after shooting and killing a woman while repulsing a crowd that wanted to storm Homa Bay Police Station during a night vigil in honour of the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

The woman identified as Lucy Oketch was killed near the entrance of Homa Bay Police station as she was walking home on Thursday night.

The incident happened when supporters of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party were marching in Homa Bay town after candle lighting as a sign of mourning the death of Odinga.

County Police Commander Lawrence Koklem says the group walked on the streets of Homa Bay town before moving to the police station.

He says that some of the mourners then started throwing stones inside the police station, prompting a police officer who had been assigned to man the OB desk to fire as the crowd charged towards the station.

The woman succumbed to injuries at the Homa Bay County Referral Hospital after she was hit by a stray bullet.

The police officer who fired was immediately arrested and is currently locked at the same police station awaiting arraignment on Tuesday.