The family of Boniface Kariuki, the Nairobi hawker who was shot during Tuesday’s protests, has lost Sh200K to online scammers.
In a shocking confession, his father Jonah Kariuki has revealed how someone swindled him with a promise of helping them to settle Kariuki’s medical bill through the Social Health Authority (SHA).
“Someone called and said they needed to register my details with SHA so the bill wouldn’t escalate quickly. I later realised it was a scam, but I’ve reported the matter to the police,” he said.
According to the family the hospital bill is now over Sh1 million. Kariuki has been admitted at Kenyatta National Hospital since June 17, 2025.
“We don’t know how they will manage to settle the bill. They have other children to care for, and the father has been at the hospital every day, waiting and hoping his son will wake up. That’s why we are appealing for any support the family can get,” said family lawyer
Kariuki has been on a life support machine and recently underwent surgery to remove a bullet lodged in his brain.
The 22-year-old underwent a second surgery on Thursday afternoon, during which doctors removed particles believed to be from the bullet.
This followed the discovery that his brain was still swelling despite the initial operation.
“We’ve been visiting him to check on his condition, but from what we see, nothing has changed. He doesn’t respond, even to touch,” said his father, Jonah Kariuki, who is also a hawker near the Railways Station in Nairobi’s city centre.
“He’s still on life support, and while his heart is beating, only the doctors can fully explain his condition. It’s emotionally draining, watching someone who was once full of life now lying helplessly, sustained by machines.”
Family spokesperson Emily Wanjiru, who has a medical background, added that Kariuki’s brain was severely damaged on the left side, an area critical to human functioning.
“That means his life will never be the same again, it is totally ruined because the bullet pierced through it,” Wanjiru explained.
Kariuki was shot at close range in Nairobi’s CBD by a police officer while selling masks to protesters demanding justice for Albert Ojwang, who died in police custody.
