Hawker Boniface Mwangi Kariuki who was shot at close range during Nairobi demos dies in hospital

A hawker who was shot at close range during a demonstration in Nairobi is dead.

Family spokesperson Emily Wanjira said Boniface Mwangi Kariuki passed on Monday at 3.15pm.

He had been in ICU at Kenyatta National Hospital since June 17 when he was shot in the city center. Wanjira had Sunday said they were called by the hospital at midnight on Saturday and informed of the patient’s state of being brain dead.

He was on a support machine. Two police officers who were involved in the drama that was caught on camera are in custody as police investigate the same.

They are likely to face murder charges.

The two, Klinzy Barasa Masinde and Duncan Kiprono were on June 19 detained at Capitol Hill police station for 15 days pending investigations by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA).

The Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) had sought 21 more days to complete its investigations.

The officers allegedly shot Kariuki on June 17, along Mondlane Street as police dispersed demonstrators.

According to Corporal Nahshon Zoka of the Homicide Bureau at the DCI, the victim was rushed by good Samaritans to Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), where he underwent surgery and was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in critical condition.

The DCI arrested the officers on June 18 and booked them at Capitol Hill Police Station.

The DCI in their application wanted them detained for 21 more days to allow for ballistic analysis of the officers’ firearms, forensic review of CCTV footage, analysis of scene samples by the Government Chemist, and recording of statements from witnesses including the victim, who is currently unable to speak.

The news of the death of the hawker elicited reactions online with many calling for justice.