A Death That Echoes a Nation's Grief

Nairobi’s streets are once again burdened by grief, after 26-year-old hawker Boniface Mwangi Kariuki succumbed to injuries sustained during a police shooting on June 17, 2025. For nearly two agonising weeks, Kariuki fought for his life in the Intensive Care Unit at Kenyatta National Hospital, where he had been placed under critical care following emergency surgery to remove a bullet from his skull.

His death, officially recorded at 3:15 PM on June 30, comes at the heart of a national conversation on police brutality, the erosion of civil liberties, and the ever-blurring line between law enforcement and lethal force.

A Family Broken, A Nation Called to Action

The grief-stricken Kariuki family now faces the painful aftermath of loss — both emotional and financial. With a hospital bill ballooning to over Ksh. 3.5 million, they say no government body has offered to offset the costs. Jonah Kariuki, Boniface’s father, addressed the press with quiet desperation, seeking help from well-wishers and the broader Kenyan public.

“Getting him out of the mortuary is hard because we do not have money,” he stated solemnly. “He was my only son. My hope.”

The burden is not just monetary — it is a call for justice. The family is now demanding accountability and answers. Why was a young man, unarmed and merely selling masks, shot at point-blank range?

From Protest Symbol to Martyr

The protest on June 17, where Kariuki was gunned down, was not just any rally — it was a demonstration against police violence. Ironically, it became yet another chapter in the story of state-inflicted brutality.

Captured on camera by bystanders and press alike, the footage clearly showed two police officers confronting and beating Kariuki near Imenti House before one of them fired a live bullet into his head. The scene triggered widespread outrage and reignited demands for urgent police reform.

What followed was a harrowing stretch of days. Though he was declared brain dead by June 29, legal barriers prevented the family from removing him from life support. Only when his heart stopped beating could doctors declare him clinically dead.

Official Reactions and Arrests

Former police spokesperson Charles Owino, speaking on the morning of Kariuki’s death, made controversial remarks suggesting that the young man had “insulted” the officers before being shot — words that only deepened public frustration.

Owino confirmed that the officer who pulled the trigger, Klinzy Baraza Masinde, was a relatively new recruit — in service for less than two years. He claimed the officer was overwhelmed and acted rashly, but conceded that no provocation could justify the use of live ammunition on an unarmed civilian.

Both officers were arrested two days after the incident. They were arraigned at the Milimani Law Courts on June 19, where they were remanded for 15 days as the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) conducts its investigations.

The Bigger Picture: Police, Power, and Public Rage

Boniface Kariuki’s story has become a lightning rod for conversations around systemic abuses in Kenya's law enforcement. While IPOA continues to probe the matter, the public is demanding that this not be yet another case swept under the carpet.

The hawker’s death is more than a tragedy; it is an indictment of a system that has allowed unchecked force to flourish under the guise of order.

As Kenya mourns another life lost at the hands of those sworn to protect, the nation waits. Not for more apologies, but for action.