Two families in Nakuru County are grieving the deaths of their sons who were shot by police officers during protests on Tuesday. One family has suffered the loss of a member less than a week after burying their patriarch. Among those who lost their lives are Austin Makokha, aged seventeen, and Michael Kehoha, aged twenty-eight.
The families are critical of the government’s use of live ammunition on protesters. For Rose Nyaguthie, who recently lost her husband, the pain deepened with the death of her 28-year-old son, Michael Kehoha, in the same tragic incident.
“It is very painful that I am still mourning my husband who we buried last week yet am now off to another funeral for my son. Kehoha didn’t deserve to die the way he did,” said Nyaguthie.
They were in a sombre mood at their residence in Pipeline Estate Nakuru, in total disbelief that Kehoha was no more after he was shot by police during anti-finance bill protests outside Nakuru Statehouse on Tuesday.
Hopes dashed“I had hopes of finding my son alive but all that was dashed when I was informed that he was in the mortuary and not undergoing an operation as previously informed by those who alerted me of the shooting,” said Nyaguthie.
A few kilometres outside Nakuru, we also found the family of Maria Khayanga overwhelmed with grief over the loss of their son, Austin Makokha, aged seventeen, whose life was cut short by a bullet.
“My son was born with autism. He could not have had the idea of taking part in a protest. He was attracted by gunshots near Statehouse and told me he was going to look for his younger brother,” said Khayanga.
Makokha did not return home that evening prompting his mother to search for him after reports emerged that several people had been shot a few meters from her home near the Nakuru State House.
“When I got to the morgue, I was told not to uncover his body fully. But as a mother I had to see what they had done to my son. He had six bullet injuries on the head, neck, chest, stomach and pelvis region. This was targeted shooting,” said Khayanga.
The families are now urging the government to address the issue of protesters’ killings and ensure justice is served.
Meanwhile, traders in Nakuru were forced to close their businesses early after a small group of protesters attempted to storm the city. Police who were patrolling the streets however did not give them a chance to regroup and dispersed them using teargas.
