Two Nairobi families are demanding justice after their young sons were allegedly attacked and killed during the Linda Mwananchi rally on Sunday, September 13, in what the families describe as senseless, unprovoked violence.
Brandon Ong’or, 19, and Joseph Shuku, 23, had left their homes that morning with friends, eager to join the politically charged rally.
Hours later, both were dead, their bodies booked as victims of mob justice at a Nairobi funeral home.
A Mother’s Unbearable Grief
Brandon had told his family he was heading out to attend the rally. When his mother, Hellen Ong’or, next saw him, she was standing over his body in a funeral home, weeping as she spoke to the press.
“I just identified the body, and found that it’s my son; they killed my son, they beat him up, and that is how he has left me; he is dead,” she said. “A good boy who speaks a little; he was supposed to be joining college.”
Her words painted a picture of a quiet, promising young man whose life was cut short before it had truly begun.
For the family and friends of Joseph Shuku, grief turned to anguish as they viewed his body. Evans Okot, who was with Shuku on the day, gave a vivid account of how the situation deteriorated rapidly as the group made their way from Dawn to join the crowd along the road.
According to Okot, Shuku was attacked by a man wielding a panga.
A matatu crew reportedly intervened and pulled Okot to safety, but by the time he learnt what had become of his friend, it was too late. Shuku allegedly died after being thrown from a bridge during the attack.
Sources at the Nairobi Funeral Home confirmed that three bodies, all recorded as victims of mob justice, were brought to the facility in the aftermath of the rally.
Both families maintain that their sons had gone to the rally peacefully and were accompanied by friends who witnessed the alleged attacks. They are now calling on authorities to hold those responsible to account.
