Three-volley salute for police officer killed in Garissa explosion as he is buried in Machakos

A police officer who was killed alongside his two colleagues after an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) detonated at Dadaab in Garrisa County last month was laid to rest on Tuesday.

Joshua Mutua, 33, died after the vehicle they were traveling in ran over the IED along the Dadaab-Garrisa Road on February 24.

He was buried in a somber ceremony at his home in Masewani Village in Kangundo.

Mutua was honored in a three-volley salute by members of the police force who were present to send him off.

A three-volley salute is a ceremonial act performed at military and sometimes police funerals.

Usually, the three fired cartridges are placed into the folded flag prior to presentation to the next of kin, and they "duty, honor, and sacrifice.”

The custom originates from the European dynastic wars.

The explosion which claimed the lives of the three officers came just a week after another attack on February 14 where three officers died on the spot while one survived with injuries.

Garissa sits on the Kenya-Somalia border and has been facing the threat of attacks from the al-Shabaab terror group due to the porous border which makes it easy for terrorists to enter the country and stage attacks.