WHEN Boniface Kariuki, a 22-year-old man from Kangema in Murang’a county, was shot by anti-riot police in Nairobi on Tuesday, his mother, Susan Njeri, was going about her daily activities at their home in Karugia village, with no idea of what had befallen her first-born son.
It was not until Wednesday morning that a relative called her with the shocking news.
The son she fondly calls Bonny had been shot by a police officer and was in critical condition at Kenyatta National Hospital.
“I nearly collapsed. Bonny is my only son. He was just doing his work and was not doing any wrong. Why would somebody want to do him harm?” she sobbed.
Njeri said Kariuki started hawking in the Central Business District immediately after completing his secondary education in 2020.
He started his secondary education at Ihiga Secondary School before joining his father, John Kariuki, a long-time trader, in the capital city. He enrolled in a school in Mukuru kwa Reuben, where he did his KCSE.
Kariuki would sometimes join his father as he vended various commodities, especially during the holidays, which made it easier for him to join the trade after school.
From his proceeds, he would consistently send money to his mother to help with the upkeep of his younger siblings.
“The money he’d send me helped me feed the family while his father focused on paying for their school fees. He’d send me Sh500 or whatever money he would find and it went a long way,” she said.
Njeri said the news of his shooting changed her life. The incident has caused immense pain to the family.
The distraught mother said her family cannot raise the funds needed to clear medical bills incurred by her son and called for help from the government and well-wishers.
“I need help. He needs help. Please help us,” she said, bursting into tears, as a group of women who had visited her home consoled her.
She called for the prosecution of the police officer involved, saying he may end up maiming and killing many other people.
Kariuki’s father challenged the government to ensure the responsible police officer is used as an example, so that other families are not put through similar suffering.
He wondered why a police officer would shoot an innocent person unprovoked, as his son’s only sin was being a hard worker.
“He learnt this trade from me. He normally operates at the Commercial bus stop but because of the protests, he moved to another part of town to sell masks to protestors,” he said.
His phone had been off for some time that evening and when he eventually went online, he saw videos of a young man being shot but it did not immediately register that it was his son, until he received a call confirming it.
Initial reports circulating on social media were that his son had died and that shocked the father to the core.
“Somebody called me and told me he had been taken to KNH, so I rushed there and got there around 10pm. I told the doctors I had come to see a hawker who had been shot dead by a police officer, and they told me nobody had died from gun shot wounds at the facility,” he said.
The doctors told him Kariuki was in the theatre undergoing a surgery and asked him to return in the morning.
“He’s currently in the ICU. I am happy he’s alive, but he shouldn’t have been in the hospital in the first place. He should be going about his normal activities like everybody else,” the father said.
But he said the government should take responsibility for the incident and ensure those involved are severely punished to set an example.
The government should provide financial support to the family fr Kariuki’s medical needs while supporting his siblings.
Ephantus Kimotho, Kariuki’s grandfather, said he could not believe his eyes when he saw the news on Tuesday evening. “I saw the way they cornered him before aiming at his head and shooting him.
“I condemn that police officer. May God see him for what he has done to our family. We’re a poor family. We struggle even to feed ourselves and now that police officer has destroyed the life of our child”.
Kariuki, he said, does not drink nor has he ever consumed drugs. He described him as an honest and hardworking youth focused on bettering family.
“He has never even been arrested. He is a peaceful man,” the grandfather said.
Keziah Njeri, a neighbour, appealed to the government to stop using unnecessary force while dealing with the Gen Zs agitating for their rights.
Njeri said the youths go to the streets unarmed but are met with guns, which she said is causing many parents sleepless nights, especially those with youths living in urban areas.
On Tuesday evening, Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja ordered the arrest of Klinzy Masinde and Duncan Kiprono to be charged with Kariuki’s shooting.
