Innocent blood: Families mourn those shot dead during Saba Saba

On July 7, as the country marked 35 years since Saba Saba, Elvis Musavi stepped out of his house in Kangemi, Nairobi, at around 11 am. He intended to check the situation outside, then proceed to his workplace and return home early to bond with his six-month-old child.

He never made it back. Musavi, 25, was shot in the back by police facing off with protesters in the neighbourhood, one of the epicentres of the Saba Saba demonstrations along Waiyaki Way.

On Tuesday, his body was among five lying at City Mortuary, collected from various parts of the city. “I’ve raised him as a single mother up to this day, only for his life to be cut short. I don’t know how I will move on from here, even to plan for his burial in Western,” his mother, Faith Indeche, told the Press after viewing the body.

She added that she spoke to him in the morning as he left for work, and when she heard that someone had been shot dead in Kangemi, it disturbed her.

Indeche said she received a call shortly afterwards from a close relative confirming that it was Elvis who had been shot, prompting her to rush to the scene.

“When I arrived, he was already gone. It pains me because he leaves behind a six-month-old child. He was shot in the back, head and arm, and died on the spot,” she added.

Paul Makori was shot just outside his house and died instantly, leaving behind three children. “One of the children is supposed to join college, another is in Grade Nine, and the last-born is in Grade Five. He was the sole breadwinner, and I don’t know how to move on now that he was shot dead,” his wife, Sabina Tabitha, said after identifying the body at City Mortuary.

She added that the 35-year-old was killed not far from their home when police officers managing the protests ordered people to move further away. Tabitha blamed the killing on the recent shoot-to-kill orders issued by Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen regarding how police should handle protesters, insisting that Makori was not among them.

Vocal Africa Executive Director Hussein Khalid said five bodies were collected from different locations: two from Riruta, one from Kahawa West, one from Buruburu and another from Githurai.

“The excessive force used by the police has everything to do with the utterances of Cabinet Secretary Murkomen last week. As we are saying, a country’s solution can never be violence,” Khalid said.

He observed that those killed had bullet wounds on their backs, indicating they had been shot while fleeing.

In Kiambu County, a sombre mood engulfed Kiriguini village as family members and neighbours came to terms with the death of Bridgit Njoki, 12, who was shot by police as they battled demonstrators. According to her uncle, Charles Wainaina, the pupil at Tinganga Primary School was shot while watching TV in their living room.

“Her parents and I were in a nearby homestead mourning another relative when we received a call that Njoki had been hit by a bullet. She was rushed to the hospital by neighbours, where she succumbed to the gunshot wound,” Wainaina said.

In Kiambu town, 23-year-old Dennis Mwangi was reportedly shot from the back, with the bullet exiting through his neck.

His mother, Friday Kawira, said he had stepped outside their home to check on the commotion after finishing his laundry. Another victim, Laban Kagunda from Ndumberi village, was shot in the head. His mother, Margaret Wangui, said the 25-year-old was not a criminal and did not deserve such a violent death.

The families collectively called on the government to waive mortuary fees and cover burial costs. In Ngong, three people died, allegedly from bullets fired by police officers, while ten others were injured as protestors and police turned the town into a battlefield.

“We have never seen anything like this in Ngong,” said Jane Wanjiku.

At Ngong Sub-County Funeral Home, Peninah Mwikali called for justice for her son, Jeremiah Oscar, 24, who was shot dead in Ngong town.

The father of two was allegedly shot in the neck by a police officer while on his way back from a garage where he had taken his motorcycle for servicing.

“He was coming from maintaining his motorcycle at the garage. There were clashes on the road he was supposed to use, so he took an alternative route, where he was shot by a police officer in the neck. His brother took him to Zamzam Medical Centre in Ngong town, where he was confirmed dead,” said the mother.

The family of Stephen Mbugua is mourning the death of Paul Mburu Issa, 26, who was also allegedly shot dead by police. Mbugua told The Standard that his son was not protesting when he was shot in the back. “I was called while at work by a close relative and informed that my son had been shot dead by a police officer. I am sad for what happened,” said Mbugua.

Issa leaves behind a young family, including a pregnant wife. Calls for justice also rang out in the home of Gladys Muthoni, whose son, Joseph Kinuthia, 24, was shot dead by a police officer.

“My son was coming to Ngong from Kiserian to see his father. On the way, he was shot in the head by a police officer. I came here this morning to view his lifeless body,” she said.

At the Ngong Level 4 hospital bodies of Joseph Kagiri, 24, and Oscar Jeremia, 24, lie. Paul Mburu, 26, was shot and killed. He was buried according to Muslim traditions. Local leaders condemned the violence and called for restraint on both sides.

“What happened in Ngong is unacceptable,” said Mbiriri Mwaura, the area Member of the County Assembly.

In Kirinyaga, police are accused of shooting dead Edwin Ndambiri, 25, and Peter Macharia Mugo, 21. Another person is admitted to Kerugoya Referral Hospital, where he is recuperating after surgery to remove a bullet lodged in his right leg.

Kevin Muiruri, 18, a student in Kabete constituency, was among the injured. He was shot in the left leg while running from the skirmishes.

He claimed that police left him at the scene after the shooting.

[Report by Omondi Powel, Pkemoi Ng’enoh, Jane Mugambi, Kimaku Chege, George Njung’e, Emmanuel Kipchumba and Fred Kagonye]