Tear gas, gunshots rock Ol Kalou CBD as crowds scatter

Panic gripped Ol Kalou town after masked individuals were reported to have lobbed tear gas near a polling centre, sending residents fleeing during the Parliamentary by-election.

The incident unfolded near St Joseph's Catholic Comprehensive School polling station after a group of residents briefly barricaded a section of the road leading to the voting centre.

They said they would not allow what they described as suspicious vehicles to access the area.

The residents placed stones and poles across the road in Ol Kalou town centre, saying they wanted to prevent vehicles not associated with the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) from reaching the polling station.

"You are not going to steal our votes," some of the residents were heard chanting in the Kikuyu dialect as tensions escalated.

The situation intensified after several Toyota Prado vehicles drove into the area carrying masked individuals dressed in balaclavas.

Witnesses said the group emerged from the vehicles carrying what appeared to be tear gas launchers.

Moments later, tear gas canisters were reportedly fired into the crowd, triggering panic as residents scattered in different directions while screaming.

Some of those fleeing were heard urging others in the Kikuyu dialect not to abandon the area despite the chaos.

The masked individuals were also seen entering the nearby A.C. Comprehensive School polling station, where security had been heightened throughout the day.

Earlier in the morning, another vehicle that entered the vicinity of a polling station had reportedly been confronted by residents before leaving the area amid heightened tensions.

Despite the dramatic scenes, voting continued at the polling station under heightened security as election officials remained at their stations processing voters.

Authorities had not immediately issued a statement identifying the masked individuals or explaining the circumstances surrounding the reported deployment of tear gas.