A post-mortem conducted on the body of 19-year-old who died during protests in Mwiki showed that he was shot on the chest and the bullet got out through the back, killing him.
Stephen Machurusi was shot dead by police on January 15, during demonstrations over the sorry state of the Mwiki-Kasarani road.
His father Peter Nandwa said Mucharusi had finished his Form 4 last year and was caught up in the melee as he was trying to get to work.
According to Nandwa, Machurusi had only been in the city visiting his sister for two weeks after he left his home in Molo where he had been staying with his father.
“Why did I allow him to leave home? Was death calling him from that far?” his father asked.
When the Star caught up with him, Nandwa was organising burial preparations.
“He loved music just like I do, though of a different genre. I sing in a choir at my church and he would try to mimic my voice sometimes,” Nandwa said.
Nandwa said the family had high hopes for Machurusi, the last born and only son, but he had died too soon.
“In my entire family, no one has gone to school like my son. Not me, not my siblings, not my daughters. He is the only one who managed to score a C+ that would allow him to join a university. The bullet that shot him took his life, but crashed the rest of us,” he lamented.
He said that the boy had found a job selling sausages at Garden City and would share the income with the parents.
“He had Sh1,000 and sent me Sh200 to buy electricity tokens and gave his mother who also stays in Nairobi Sh500. He always called to remind me to save for his schooling,” he said.
Machurusi's sister Winnie Wangui said she had left to check the route but came back to find his brother had already left for work.
"He called me and said he was coming back. He did not know the route well since he was new in the area," she said.
Winnie told the Star her mother was unable to attend the postmortem as she was so devastated. She was the first person to see her son’s body lying on the road.
“When my mother saw the body, she screamed then lost her consciousness. She had planned a surprise party for him for excelling in his studies," she said.
Winnie said her mother would not stop crying but justice might help heal her even though it cannot bring back Machurusi to life.
“We know revenge belongs to God, but my son did not deserve to die. I hope the government sees the importance in a case of a teenage boy from a very poor background but with so bright future,” he said.
