A 22-year-old man, Boniface Kariuki, remains in intensive care after being shot at point-blank range by a Kenyan police officer during protests in Nairobi.
The incident occurred amidst demonstrations against extrajudicial killings by security forces, sparked by the death of blogger and teacher Albert Ojwang in police custody on June 8. Ojwang’s death was initially attributed to suicide, but an independent autopsy revealed he died from assault, prompting an apology from the police.
The protests, which also took place in Mombasa, led to the arrest of an officer in connection with Kariuki’s shooting. Kariuki’s father, Jonah, said his son is on machine support but has a heartbeat, giving him some hope for recovery.
The young man was selling masks when he was shot, and his father maintains that he is not a criminal.
The incident has reignited concerns about police brutality in Kenya, with human rights groups, the Law Society of Kenya, and the judiciary expressing alarm over increased incidents of alleged police abuse.
Two police officers, Samson Talaam and James Mukhwana, have been arrested in connection with Ojwang’s death, and a technician was detained for allegedly tampering with the video surveillance system at the Central Police Station in Nairobi.
