Kiambu families mourn 6 killed in Saba Saba protests

Lucy Ngugi, whose 12-year-old daughter was shot dead while watching TV in their home in Ndumberi, Kiambu.

Tears and despair gripped families of six people shot dead by police in Kiambu county, among them a 12-year-old girl during the Sabsaba Day protests that turned chaotic.

The six lost their lives in differing circumstances, leaving their families in grief as they demanded justice for their kin.

Lucy Ngugi said her 12-year-old daughter, Bridgit Njoki, was shot dead while watching TV at home in Ndumberi village.

"It was around 6:20 pm. We were at home as a family when we heard a loud bang. I turned to look at my daughter, and she had blood on her hand. My immediate thought was that something had cut her hand but when I held her hand to check the source of the blood, she fell on the floor,” she recounted.

“She had a gaping hole in her head. I screamed and her father who was outside feeding chicken ran in," she added, expressing her shock that a stray bullet had struck her daughter.

Her home, she explained, is about two kilometres from the main road where protests were taking place and that she lost her life while being resuscitated in a nearby health facility.

On Tuesday morning, detectives from Forensic Crime Scene Investigations under the Directorate of Criminal Investigations visited Ngugi’s family to process the scene.

Margaret Wangui, the mother of Laban Kamau, who was shot dead in Ndumberi area, Kiambu county, outside his home.

Another victim, Dennis Mutuma Mwangi, 23, was shot dead outside his home in Kiambu town.

His mother, Friday Kawira, tearfully said that her son was shot from the back, indicating that he was running away.

“The bullet hit him on the neck killing him instantly right outside our home," she said, insisting that he was not protesting and had just stepped outside their premises to see what was happening after washing his clothes.

Margaret Wangui whose son Laban Kamau was also shot in the head in Ndumberi village said they were shocked when protests erupted in the rural area.

"Ndumberi is a village and not a town center. We were shocked to see such protests that have left me without a son. It’s so painful because he was not a criminal to be gunned down that way”.

To add salt to their injuries, the families decried being charged with mortuary and post-mortem bills at Kiambu Level Five Hospital despite their loved ones' deaths being attributed to police shootings.

They urged the government to cover hospital bills and burial preparations, saying it’s unfair to subject them to the costs when they’re still dealing with the pain of losing their loved ones.

The violence also left 18-year-old Kevin Muiruri, a student, with gunshot wounds on his left leg in Kabete constituency while running away from the skirmishes.

18-year-old Kevin Muiruri, a student, was shot in his left leg in Kabete

He said a police vehicle left him lying on the street after he was shot and that well-wishers later took him to a hospital for treatment.

“When I fell, I looked down and saw a hole in my leg oozing blood and realised it was a bullet”.

Former Kiambu MP Jude Njomo who visited the grieving families echoed calls for an independent investigation into the many killings reported during the protests.

"How can the police investigate themselves after killing the young people? We need international bodies to investigate so that the dead and their families can get justice”.

He also criticized police reports for understating the number of fatalities and casualties, citing the official report of only one death in Kiambu as deceitful.

Residents of many parts of the Mt. Kenya region that reported chaotic protests confirmed the presence of unfamiliar youths