Residents of Chokeria village in Gilgil have expressed their fears following an increase in cases of stray bullets from the nearby KDF shooting range.
They have called on Ministry of Interior to intervene and have the shooting range relocated or reinforced as it was a threat to their lives.
This comes three days after 25-year-old Kelvin Njenga was shot on the head by a stray bullet from the range and left for the dead.
According to Morendat MCA Peter Njoroge area residents were living in fear due to the bullets adding that they had raised the issue with KDF but no action had been taken.
He termed the condition of the victim as stable adding that he had undergone through an operation to remove the bullet that was lodge in the head.
“The boy was seating in the house when the stray bullet from the shooting range hit him and its by the grace of the lord that he is still alive,” he said.
Njoroge noted that during the incident one cow was killed by a bullet adding that safety measures around the range should be urgently addressed.
“The number of people living around the shooting range has increased and its time that this security facility was transferred elsewhere,” he said.
Another resident Jason Wahome said that several homes had been hit by the stray bullets adding that they had reported the matter to KDF offices.
He said that the cases were increasing by the day noting that either the range had become weak or the army recruits were very poor in aiming.
“We have lived here for over thirty years and we are worried by the increasing cases of bullets hitting our homes and we fear that lives could be lost,” he said.
Earlier, Gilgil OCPD Emmanuel Opuru confirmed the incident adding that an inquest file had been opened and senior officers from KDF informed about the incident.
“The young man was hit by a bullet from the shooting range and the family has recorded a statement with us as part of the investigations,” he said.
A senior KDF officer who declined to be named confirmed the incident adding that several cases had been reported to them.
He however pointed an accusing finger at the residents saying that they found the shooting range there and had constructed their houses nearby.