Yassin Hussein Moyo would have sat for his KCPE this year at Ndururumo Primary school in Kiamaiko, Huruma area.
The 13-year-old – timid, hardworking but with a fun-loving spirit – talked so much of his dream of joining secondary school next year.
caption id=”attachment_3530″ align=”alignnone” width=”720″] 13-year-old Yassin Moyo who was shot dead by police officers in Kiamaiko during a curfew enforcement patrol by police officers believed to be from Huruma Police Station.[/caption]
His dream was however cut short by a single bullet late Monday evening, as he played with his siblings at the balcony of his family’s home.
It happened so fast. It was about 7 pm, just after the curfew announced by the Kenya government to help curb the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) had set in. Though gun sounds rang multiple times in the air, Yassin and his siblings had no reason to worry.
Their mother, who was nearby, gave little attention to the police officers who were walking past the building enforcing the dusk to dawn curfew in the area. After all, they were on the third floor of the building. They were safe, or so they thought.
“We saw a flashlight directed towards us. It happened twice. The first time, we assumed it was nothing. But when it happened the second time, we heard a gunshot sound,” a tearful Yassin’s mother told the media.
He told me, “Mama it has hit me”. At first, I thought Yassin was joking and I even asked him to stop his jokes,”
But when Yassin insisted that he had been hit, his mother rushed to where he was standing holding his stomach.
“I lifted his sweater and that is when I saw blood oozing from his stomach,” said the distraught mother.
What followed next were hours of pain that has left the family in perpetual agony. Yassin’s mother and neighbours rushed to Huruma police station to report the incident.
The later rushed him to Mama Lucy hospital where he had to wait for a surgery to remove the bullet lodged in his stomach. He did not make it.
Yassin’s father, Hussein Moyo, said after waiting for close to three hours, he was told there was nothing doctors could have done to save his son’s life.
He had earlier signed a consent allowing doctors to operate on Yassin. He was hopeful he would recover, but this did not happen.
According to a postmortem conducted by three pathologists from Independent Medical Legal Unit, IPOA and one representing the government, Yassin died as a result of excessive bleeding and a bullet was removed from his stomach.
His death is the latest case of extra-judicial killing adding to the growing statistics of young men who have been killed by police officers since January. According to Missing Voices figures, 34 people have been killed by police in January-February this year.
Family and friends who gathered on Tuesday at Kariokor Cemetery to say goodbye to Yassin demanded that justice be served.
“I want justice for my son,” Yassin’s mother said shortly after the burial.
Kenyans took to Social Media messaging Twitter with the hashtag #JusticeForYassin demanding for speedy investigations into the killing.
The Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji directed the Inspector General of Police Hilary Mutyambai to investigate the case.
“DPP Noordin Haji has directed @IG_NPS to thoroughly but urgently investigate reported incident of shooting of 13 yr old boy at Kiamaiko, Mathare & forward file to his office for appropriate direction,” his office tweeted early Tuesday.
On his part, the Inspector General directed the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to quickly investigate the case.
“The @IG_NPS has directed the @DCI_Kenya to inquire into the death of a thirteen-year-old boy who was hit by a stray bullet last night within Huruma area,” National Police Service tweeted in response to the DPP direction.
“He has further directed the @DCI_Kenya to undertake forensic analysis of all firearms held by officers who were on duty last night within Huruma area. Our sincere condolences to the family.”
IPOA, the policing watchdog body said they have already started a probe on Yassin’s killing and listed five other cases of police brutality they are following up.