• Stephen Muema was clobbered in Huruma in October 23.
• He told his parents that it was the police who hit him. He died three days later.
A family in Huruma estate, Nairobi, is seeking justice for their son who was allegedly clobbered to death by police.
Stephen Muema, 24, suffered brain damage after he was hit and died three days later while undergoing treatment.
The police, however, say he was lynched by a mob as he terrorised residents armed with a knife and a metal rod.
Elizabeth Mwikali received an unusual phone call on October 23, informing her that her son had been arrested.
The caller identified himself as a police officer and wanted them to meet, but not at Huruma police station.
The officer said he had arrested Muema near a bar popularly known as 'Kwa Mary'.
"The officer wanted to know where I was and when I told him that I was in Eastleigh, he asked that I call him when I got to Huruma. I did," Mwikali said.
Muema had only arrived in the city the previous day from their rural home in Tala.
She said the officer told her he had clobbered Muema at the local bar and asked him to follow him to the police post where he was stationed but was yet to see him.
The cop said he had received a distress call from a resident complaining that Muema was drunk and disorderly, terrorising locals.
"I met with him at a bar called Starehe. He showed me a photo of Muema and his national ID card,"narrated the mother.
"He said my son was a criminal and threatened to post his photo on Nairobi Crime Alert, if I didn't give him Sh15, 000," she added.
Mwikali admitted knowing his son was a petty thief and thus opted to bargain with the officer on the demanded amount.
"He agreed to take Sh3, 000 and gave me the ID and deleted the photo as we parted ways,"she said.
At around 9pm, a few of Muema's friends brought him to the house and explained how the officer arrested him, chained his hands to the back and hit him with a metal rod repeatedly.
Muema could not walk but he could speak though incoherently. He told his mother how the cop beat him and how he was in a lot of pain.
Mwikali said he gave him painkillers but his condition deteriorated.
He started breathing heavily and was sweating.
"We waited till morning to take him to Mama Lucy Hospital. By then, he was unable to talk completely. He was just groaning in pain, "she said.
Muema's father, Gerald Muoki, said he arrived that evening and was informed of the incident.
"I decided to focus on his treatment before taking up the case with the police,"he said.
Muema was referred to Kenyatta National Hospital where he was admitted at the intensive care unit with brain damage.
"He could not eat, speak or move. I visited him in hospital on Tuesday last week before the hospital called to inform us of his death on Wednesday,"he said.
Muoki said that even though his son could have been a petty thief, the officer ought to have arrested and have him charged.
"Now we have been left with a hospital bill of Sh81, 000 without considering other expenses,"he said.
Muoki, a jua kali artisan, said the family had already spent Sh20, 000 on his treatment and transport.
"The rule of law should be upheld. I have made the report at Huruma police station under OB 83|29|10|2021 and have forwarded the case to Ipoa," he said.
"All we want is justice and help to settle the hospital and morgue bills," he added.
Sterehe OCPD Julius Kiragu said he had been informed of the case but the officer accused denied beating the deceased.
Kiragu said the officer was responding to a distress call but upon arriving at the scene, he found a mob beating him.
"He rescued the boy from the mob and left him at a safe place where good samaritans were helping him with first aid. He had gone to find a car to take him to hospital but did not find him where he had left him,"he said.
The police boss said Muema was armed with a knife and a metal rod, which he was using to violently rob people.
Ipoa has contacted the family and commenced investigations into the incident.
Edited by EKibii