At least four women were killed and 13 others were injured following a stampede at the Kericho Green Stadium, the venue of this year’s Mashujaa Day Celebrations.
The injured included two police officers and an official from the National Youth Service.
The injured had several body injuries, police said.
Police said the deadly incident happened in the morning on Friday hours before the stadium gates were opened for the public ahead of the national celebrations led by President William Ruto.
A statement from the police said the incident happened after a tea vendor spilled tea on an open fire causing panic.
“A stampede caused by a lady who was selling tea outside the stadium who accidentally spilled hot tea in the fire near gate “C” along the public road, as a result, members of the public panicked and mistook it to be a teargas thrown to them,” said the police.
This forced a crowd that was standing near there to scamper for safety, Rift Valley police boss Tom Odera said.
He confirmed four died on arrival at the hospital while those injured were admitted.
“They are in stable but in serious condition,” he said.
The injured, who are reported to be in stable condition were rushed to the Kericho County Referral Hospital while the dead were moved to the hospital’s morgue awaiting identification and postmortem.
Security was tight at the event with those getting in being screened.
Police later moved the crowd from the site and screened those in queues to get into the stadium.
Ruto who was briefed about the incident arrived at the stadium, which has a sitting capacity of 10,000 people, to lead the Mashujaa Day celebrations.
Police said they are investigating the incident.
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