The government and police are under immense pressure following the shooting of an unarmed mask vendor in Nairobi, with leaders across the political divide calling for accountability.
The hawker, identified as Boniface Kariuki, is fighting for his life at Kenyatta National Hospital, with government machinery deployed to ensure he survives the near-fatal shooting.
The shooting came hot on the heels of the recent murder of blogger Albert Ojwang' in police custody on June 7, triggering a wave of protests.
Ironically, police again shot another person on the day Kenyans were protesting Ojwang's killing.
The outrage comes as Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja announced on Tuesday evening that the trigger-happy officer had been identified and arrested for prosecution.
The officer is reported to have monitored the hawker, followed him with a colleague, and cornered him at Imenti House, where he fired a single shot to the head, causing the vendor to collapse.
Former Attorney General Justin Muturi said what happened on Tuesday on the streets of Nairobi was tragic, unacceptable, and unconstitutional.
“State-sponsored violence against citizens exercising their right to protest peacefully under Article 37 of our Constitution is an act of cowardice and a betrayal of the oath every leader swore to uphold,’’ Muturi said in a post on his X account.
The former Public Service Cabinet Secretary claimed that the police are no longer acting as independent custodians of law and order but have become tools of political repression.
“This country is not under martial law. We cannot allow Kenya to slide into a state where dissent is met with bullets and justice is a rumour,’’ Muturi added.
Former Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba said brutality, excessive force, and violence against unarmed, innocent citizens peacefully exercising their constitutional freedoms of expression, association, and assembly must stop.
Saying that Kenya is a constitutional democracy, Namwamba noted that the point-blank shooting of a harmless hawker by a uniformed police officer is a grave affront to constitutional order.
“Coming hot on the heels of the mindless, brutal murder of Albert Ojwang in police hands, it is unfathomable, incomprehensible, and inexcusable—from whatever angle one looks at it,’’ Namwamba said in a post on his X account.
“Furthermore, anyone investing in violent gangs should be warned—you are toying with a typhoon that will consume many, including yourself! Entire states have collapsed while riding the virulent beast of sponsored gangs.’’
Namwamba, who is currently serving as Kenya’s ambassador to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), said the matter is no longer about political sides.
“It is about the soul of Kenya. It behoves us all to save the Motherland from sliding into jungle rule, mobocracy, and anarchy,’’ he said.
Jubilee Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni said Kenyans must wake up to the reality of the dangers they are facing.
“The fact that the young man pleaded, 'Don't kill me,' yet the police still did not hesitate to shoot — it's a very frightening and disturbing reality,’’ Kioni said.
Narok Senator Ledama Ole Kina called on the Kenyan police to show compassion, saying the pattern of arbitrary shootings is unacceptable.
“You cannot attack everyone indiscriminately; your role is to uphold the law and maintain order, not to take matters into your own hands,’’ Ole Kina said.
Kanu Chairman Gideon Moi said the role of the police is to protect citizens, including protesters exercising their constitutional rights, and not to stand by as marauding goons unleash terror on innocent people.
“The cold-blooded shooting of an unarmed mask vendor at close range by a police officer during protests in the CBD is tragic and a shocking abuse of power by police,’’ Moi said on his X account.
“While we condemn these actions, that police officer must be identified, arrested, and charged.’’
Former Kabete MP and Senior Counsel Paul Muite said the police shooting of the hawker on Tuesday is further evidence that authorities have no remorse over Albert Ojwang’s murder.
“Extrajudicial execution is now the official policy of intimidation,’’ he said.
