The bustling town of Karatina has been transformed into a zone of rage and teargas following the cold-blooded shooting of a local businessman by a police officer.

George Gathu Matheri was gunned down on Sunday night, January 18, 2026, at the Rubis Petrol Station in what witnesses are calling an extrajudicial execution. The incident has ripped the scab off the deep-seated mistrust between the police and the citizenry in Central Kenya, triggering violent protests that paralyzed the Nairobi-Nyeri highway for the better part of Monday.

Sunday Bloody Sunday

Witness accounts paint a harrowing picture. What began as a routine interaction turned deadly in seconds. Matheri, a well-known figure in the local business community, was allegedly shot at close range following a brief altercation. He did not stand a chance. The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) has since confirmed that the officer involved—a known figure in the area—has been arrested, but for the residents, an arrest is not enough.

• The Gridlock: Angry residents lit bonfires and used boulders to block the main artery to the Mount Kenya region, demanding the officer be handed over to the public.
• IPOA’s Promise: "We have dispatched a rapid response team," IPOA Chairperson Ahmed Issack Hassan stated. "Forensic and ballistic analysis is underway." But in a country where IPOA investigations often drag on for years, skepticism is high.
• The Victim: Matheri was not just a statistic; he was a father, an employer, and a son of a former tea director. [...](asc_slot://start-slot-1)His death has economic ripples that will be felt by the families he supported.

A Culture of Impunity?

This shooting is not an isolated incident. It feeds into a growing narrative of a "trigger happy" police force that views lethal force as a first resort rather than a last necessity. Human rights groups in Nyeri have documented a spike in police misuse of firearms over the last six months, often under the guise of "fighting crime."

Governor Mutahi Kahiga and other local leaders have called for calm, but the air in Karatina remains thick with tension. The message from the streets is clear: the police cannot be the judge, jury, and executioner. Until the justice system proves it can bite its own, the fires on the highway will continue to burn.

For the family of George Gathu, the long wait for justice begins now. They are preparing to bury a man who should have been opening his shop this morning, a victim of the very people paid to protect him.