A police officer has been admitted to  Chuka General Hospital in Kenya after he was unintentionally shot by a colleague while on a mission to apprehend a suspect.

The officers had reportedly gone to arrest Kevin Gitonga, whose offence Kenya’s The Standard did not establish, at Moi Girls slums in Chuka Town.​

Gitonga’s family yesterday accused the officers of harassing them in the raid.

His wife, Doreen Gakii, said they were in a family meeting when the two officers arrived. “One of the officers told my husband that he wanted to kill him (Gitonga),” Gakii said.

She said Gitonga started running away when the officer drew his pistol. The officer is alleged to have then shot in the air, forcing Gitonga to surrender. He reportedly fired another bullet which bruised Gitonga before getting to the other officer’s thigh.

 “The officer was determined to shoot my husband even after he surrendered. He wanted to shoot him in the head. However, the bullet only bruised him on the face but injured the other police officer,” said Gakii.

Sharon Makena, Gitonga’s sister, said the officer has been harassing the family.

“The other day, he came to arrest my brother and when he did not find him, he arrested our father, who is mentally ill. He only released him after we deposited our title deed as security. They have not told us what my brother’s crime is,” she said.

She added: “We are asking the police to come out clear and explain why they are harassing us. We want to know what our crime is. The officer had no arrest warrant. We also feel he is misusing his rifle.”

Chuka/Igambangombe police boss Barasa Saiya only confirmed the incident but declined to give details on the said raid.