A man was on Tuesday shot dead by anti-riot police officers along Moi Avenue in Nairobi CBD during demonstrations calling for justice for the teacher Albert Ojwang.
The shooting was captured in a video circulating widely on social media showing two police officers who had cornered the hawker selling face masks along Moi Avenue.
The officers in anti riot gear began raining blows on him before shooting him at point blank range.
One of the officers who had already cocked his rifle, shot the man before fleeing the scene.
Following the incident, several good Samaritans were seen carrying the man in an apparent attempt to save his life.
The video has since elicited an outcry from the public as they call for justice against police brutality.
The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) president, Faith Odhiambo, also termed the situation “Unacceptable.”
Police said they are investigating the incident. The incident is likely to cause more uproar given the protests were called to protest the killing of Ojwang who died in police cells after an assault.
More chaos broke out as goons robbed pedestrians and protesters in the city for the better part of Tuesday.
Police were overwhelmed by the chaos or were part of the goons who had been brought to fight the protesters.
Businesses were closed for the better part of the day.
The death of 31-year-old blogger and teacher Albert Ojwang on June 8 came a year after more than 60 people were killed during protests initially sparked by proposed tax increases.
Police initially said he had committed suicide, but Kenya’s police chief later apologised after an independent autopsy found that Ojwang’s wounds pointed to assault as the cause of death.
As demonstrators took to the streets of Nairobi on Tuesday, police fired tear gas. Clashes also broke out when unidentified motorcyclists beat up protesters, dispersing them, the Reuters journalist said
Amnesty International’s Kenya chapter, in a post on X, referred to the presence of dozens of motorbikes with two hooded passengers whipping protesters and members of the public.
Ojwang was arrested as part of an investigation triggered by a formal complaint by deputy police chief Eliud Lagat, according to the Independent Policing Oversight Authority watchdog.
Last week, hundreds of people demonstrated in Nairobi over the blogger’s death, with vehicles set ablaze and police firing tear gas.
Lagat, the deputy police chief, said on Monday he had stepped aside temporarily, pending the completion of an investigation into Ojwang’s death.
Two senior officers and a closed-circuit television (CCTV) technician, who had been called to dismantle the CCTV at the police station, have been arrested in connection with the investigation.
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