Chuka residents demand justice after police kill civilian

Sunday, 10th April 2023

Chuka residents have called for justice after a protester was killed by a police bullet on Saturday, as residents took to the streets to demand action in another unexplained killing.

The town’s residents, led by bodaboda operators, had taken to the streets of the town to call for action after a local was killed in mysterious circumstances last week.

In response, the police who had initially hurled teargas at the demonstrators, fired a bullet that killed Willis Mugambi, one of the leaders of the town’s bodaboda operators.

The killing further fuelled rage as residents accused the police of shooting dead an unarmed protester instead of acting on their demands for justice for the family of the man killed last week.

Deep into the night, tension remained on a high as protesters detested the sight of police officers, whom they accused of targeting innocent civilians instead of protecting the public.

As the chaos ensued, Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki said he had dispatched high- level investigative teams to Chuka Town to take over enquiry and recommend legal action on those found responsible for the death of one person last week as well as a second person shot dead during the demonstrations.

“Any person(s) at whom evidence will point shall face the course of justice,” the minister wrote on his official Twitter handle.

Tharaka Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki also called for justice and the apprehension of the police officer behind the bullet that felled Mugambi.

“If only it was a natural death, it would be easy for us to find peace but the police who are responsible for protecting our lives and property have once more turned against us,” Governor Njuki said.

“One bullet couldn’t have been fired by more than one gun. Let the officer responsible be found and justice served.”

The police action that led to the death of Mugambi also drew wide condemnation from other leaders and Kenyans who still had fresh memories of the recent killings in opposition protests. The Independent Policing Oversight Authority said on Sunday it had launched a probe into the killing, and that it had also dispatched a team of investigators to Chuka to ascertain facts around the incident.