NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 21 – Fresh outrage has erupted in Mwiki, within Nairobi’s Kasarani sub-county, after a 19-year-old man was allegedly shot and killed by a police officer during a protest over the murder of 18-year-old Abigael Wina Wanjiku.
The young man, identified as Joshua Steven, was reportedly shot while taking part in demonstrations demanding justice for Abigael, whose mutilated body was discovered in her home yesterday in what activists have described as a brutal case of femicide.
According to eyewitness accounts and video footage circulating online, a police officer was seen discharging a live round from a pistol before fleeing the scene aboard a motorcycle.
Steven was rushed to Kenyatta National Hospital but succumbed to his injuries en route.
His death has sparked renewed protests, with residents taking to the streets for a second consecutive day.
Protesters had lit bonfires and blocked the Kasarani–Mwiki road with stones and debris, condemning both Abigael’s murder and the fatal police shooting.
“This is femicide, and it must stop,” the Kasarani Social Justice Centre said in a statement.
“Now a protester has also been killed. Our human rights defenders are pursuing both cases to ensure justice is served.”
Kasarani Sub-county Criminal Investigations Officer confirmed that Abigael had been stabbed five times in the stomach, with injuries suspected to have been inflicted using a kitchen knife.
Investigators also recovered a bloodied cooking pan at the scene, believed to have been used to bludgeon her.
Police say they are pursuing suspects in Abigael’s killing but have yet to issue an official statement regarding the protester’s shooting.
