A woman from Kisumu is grappling with immense pain following the tragic loss of her 17-year-old son, who was killed while in their house in Mathare North. Ian’s death was a consequence of the ongoing demolitions of houses built on riparian lands, prompted by the relentless heavy downpours that have claimed numerous lives.
In a video captured by Eastleigh Voice, the distraught woman revealed that Ian had been battling sickle cell disease. At the time of his passing, she had left to procure medicine for him.
“Ian is my second born. He has been suffering from sickle cell. I went to get him medicine. On my way back, my neighbour’s child informed me that Ian was dead. Bulldozers were demolishing our houses and my son was inside. They shouted to stop the demolition because children were still in the houses, but the demolishers and the police refused to listen,” she revealed.
Adding to her anguish, police were present at the scene and advised the bulldozer operator to bury the child there. According to the woman, they resisted the suggestion prompting the officers to quickly vanish from the scene.
In a heart-wrenching turn of events, when the officers returned for the body, they denied her the opportunity to accompany her deceased son to the morgue. The woman accused the government of being complicit in her only son’s death, pleading for them to release his body so she could bury him in Kisumu, not Lang’ata.
“The police saw everything. How can they bury someone’s child and flee? When they arrived for the body, they refused to let me accompany them. The government has taken the life of my son. Please, government, return my child to me. I wish to lay him to rest in Kisumu. He cannot be buried in Lang’ata because I do not have a son or another son like Ian.
"Ruto nipee mtoto wangu!" – Mother of the 17-year-old boy killed in Mathare North by the bulldozer demolishing houses around river banks calls out the government for his son's killing pic.twitter.com/tchMpwslVA
— The Eastleigh Voice (@Eastleighvoice) May 6, 2024
