Tension gripped Likii slum in Nanyuki after police officers blocked protesters from entering Nanyuki town.
The demonstrators were demanding justice for Julia Njoki, who was arrested during Saba Saba protests and allegedly tortured by police officers while in custody.
The protesters blocked the main road into Nanyuki town, lighting fires and erecting barricades, demanding the arrest of the police officer who allegedly hit Njoki so that justice can be served.
The 24-year-old died in unclear circumstances while in custody after failing to pay a Sh50,000 bond.
Njoki was heading home on the fateful evening of the July 7 protests, when she was rounded up with other protesters and taken to Nanyuki Police Station where she spent the night.
She was later arraigned in Nanyuki Law Courts to answer to charges of malicious damage and was held at Nanyuki Women’s Prison remand.
She was later taken to hospital after developing complications and succumbed while receiving treatment.
A preliminary medical report obtained by the family indicates that Njoki suffered blunt force trauma to the head, consistent with a severe beating.
The Kenya Prisons Service (KPS) said that Njoki was admitted to prison on July 8 at around 5:20pm with four other women and started complaining of dizziness, headache and stomach pains at around 7:00pm.
