This archive report was first published on 11 July 2020.
On July 11, 2020, a police officer in Mombasa's Old Town was attacked by a mob after attempting to arrest a man for not wearing a mask.
The officer, identified as 31-year-old Gerald Sumba, was attached to the Tononoka Police Station and was in plainclothes at the time of the incident.
According to locals, the officer failed to identify himself, leading to the confrontation.
Photos shared on social media show the officer lying in a pool of blood outside a building.
The incident is the latest in a series of ugly confrontations between the public and police officers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya.
Since the government made wearing masks mandatory, there have been numerous cases of officers soliciting bribes from those who don't wear masks, and many people wear masks out of fear of police rather than due to COVID-19 concerns.
