On July 7, a day the country was marking 35th Saba-Saba, Elvis Musavi aged 25 stepped out of his house in Kangemi, Nairobi around 11am in the morning.
He intended to check the situation outside then proceed to his workplace and come home early to bond with his six-months-old child, but he never made it back home.
Musavi was shot on the back by police who were facing off with protestors in the neighbourhood which was one of the epicenters during Saba-Saba protest along Waiyaki-Way in Nairobi.
Musavi’s body was among the five lying at the City mortuary that were collected from various parts of the city.
“I’ve raised him as a single mother up to this day only for his life to be cut short, I don’t know how I will move on from her, even to plan for his burial in Western Kenya. it is heavy burden for me, I don’t know how I will even transport his body for burial,” his mother, Faith Indeche shared after viewing the body
She added, “I spoke to him in the morning hours while he was going to work but I was following the protests on the television from the house when I saw that someone had been shot dead in Kangemi and the news disturbed me,”
The mother says it was not long before she received a call from a close relative that it was Indeed Elvia who had been shot, forcing her to rush to the scene.
“When I arrived, he was already gone, it pains me because he leaves behind a six-months-old child. He was shot on the back and head and arm and died on the spot, I think those who shot him were following the instructions that were given by Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen,” she added
Another victim was 37-year-old Paul Makori whose family said he was shot just outside his house and died on the spot leaving behind three children.
“One of the children is supposed to join college, another one is in grade nine and the last born is grade 5, he was the sole breadwinner and I don’t know how to move on now that he was shot dead,” his wife Sabina Tabitha said after identifying the body at city mortuary
She added that, “my husband was just standing not far from the house when a police officer arrived and ordered people to go back to move far away as they were leaving he was shot on the back,”
Tabitha blamed this on the recent orders to police on how to deal with protestors, insisting that Makori was not among those protesting.
Vocal Africa Executive Director Hussein Khalid the five bodies were collected from different locations among them 2 from Riruta, 1 from Kahawa West, 1 from Buru-buru and 1 from Githurai.
“The excessive force that was used by the police have everything to do with the utterances of the Cabinet Secretary Murkomen last week as we are saying as country solution can never be violence,” said Hussein said
“From the bodies that were collected, it appears that the entry points of the bullets were from the back existing from the front meaning the individuals were running away and those who shot them were at the back,” he added
