Shot mask hawker suffered severe brain damage, autopsy shows

Mask hawker Boniface Kariuki died from a head injury caused by a bullet, with at least four fragments discovered embedded in his brain, an autopsy showed.

Government pathologist Dr Peter Ndegwa made the revelations on Thursday after conducting the post-mortem on the body of Kariuki at the Kenyatta National Hospital Funeral Home.

"We concluded that he died due to a severe head injury. The brain was extensively damaged. We found four small bullet fragments, possibly rubber, lodged deep in the brain tissue," said Dr Ndegwa.

He said the fragments were likely missed during initial surgery due to their size and inaccessibility.

“The chances of survival were minimal, and there was a lot of bleeding," Dr Ndegwa added.

According to the report, which was compiled with the help of government pathologist Bernard Midia, Kariuki had four bullet fragments in his brain.

This was in addition to two bullet fragments, which doctors managed to take out while he was still alive.

The report also confirmed the authenticity of the video showing a police officer firing a single shot that struck the late Kariuki in the head, noting that he was shot at close range and the bullet caused fatal head trauma.

Detectives from the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) were also present at the autopsy and are expected to submit their final findings to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The family now plans to move Kariuki's body to Kenyatta University Funeral Home along Thika Road ahead of his burial scheduled for July 11 in Kangema, Murang'a County.

The incident has caused national outrage.

Family spokesperson Emily Wanjira said they are shocked by the discovery of additional fragments.

“It is a shock to us that there were more fragments. We knew two had been removed earlier, and now there are four more," she said.

Wanjira said the family had earlier attended a court session at Milimani Law Courts, but the case was postponed to next week to allow for further investigations.

She appealed to Kenyans for financial support to help settle medical and funeral bills.

“We will bury him and deal with the case later. The case has now been reclassified as murder. That is where we are so far," she said.

Kariuki died on Monday, June 30, at around 3:15 pm.

His death followed weeks of treatment in the wake of the shooting incident.

Before his death, Kariuki's sister revealed that Kariuki had been declared brain dead after spending more than a week in intensive care. 

President William Ruto has donated Sh1 million to Kariuki's family.

The donation was presented to the family by Kangema MP, Peter Irungu Kihungi.