Call For Justice As Form 4 Girl Is killed By Police, Another Injured.
Whitney Atieno, 19, and Ruth Waithera, her classmate and best friend of 18 years, had gone to a salon in Lake View Estate, Nakuru City, which is only 10 meters from her house.
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until there was a commotion outside the salon, and the two friends, like everyone else, dashed outside to satisfy their curiosity.
It proved to be a fatal decision, at least for Whitney, as trigger-happy cops killed her and seriously injured Ruth.
When tragedy struck, the two had decided to witness a police crackdown on the deadly Confirm gang in Nakuru.
Residents of Lake View estate protested the shooting of two high school students on Sunday evening, causing transportation disruptions in several parts of Nakuru on Monday.
The two students were shot by police officers conducting a crackdown on the criminal gang known as ‘Confirm’ as they accosted Whitney and her friend Ruth as they left the salon, according to the residents.
Whitney died while receiving treatment at the Nakuru Level 5 hospital, and Ruth, 18, is still recovering from serious injuries at a Nakuru hospital.
Whitney’s foster mother, Rebecca Bulimo, said the teenager left home in the evening to go to a salon just 10 meters away to plait her hair in preparation for school.
Mrs. Bulimo stated that the girls were distracted by the commotion outside and went out to find out what was going on.
The cops were out there patrolling. Suddenly, a police officer opened fire, injuring Whitney and her friend. The two were rushed to the hospital, but Whitney died.
Mrs. Bulimo claimed that while she was at home, a friend called to inform her that her daughter, a Form 4 student at Nakuru Central Secondary School, had been shot.
“I was later called by a neighbor who informed me that my daughter had been shot by the police,” Ms. Bulimo said of the loss of the girl who was preparing to sit for her KCSE examinations.
According to a witness, Charles Sankale, when the police officers realized they had shot the two children, they boarded their Land Cruiser vehicle and attempted to flee, but a crowd that quickly formed at the scene carried the two girls and blocked the police vehicle from leaving.
The officer who shot the girls then asked the girls’ families to fuel the car in case they needed help transporting the injured to the hospital. However, the crowd forced the officers to take the girls to the hospital, escorted by a few residents.
Whitney’s distraught foster mother, Rebecca Bulimo, said the teenager left home in the evening to go to a salon just 10 meters away to plait her hair in preparation for school.
Ms Bulimo, who had yet to accept the girl’s death, stated that Whitney’s biological mother had died many years ago when the girl was still young and that she had taken on the responsibility of caring for her and her other four siblings.
She described the adolescent as a joyful and humble girl who was dedicated to her studies and only wanted to do well in school and later help her other siblings.
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“She was a bright student who was always focused on her education. What we want is just justice over her death,” said Ms. Bulimo.
The cops have been accused of harassing the young people in the area and Bulimo says they do not live in peace.
We do not live peacefully. We close our businesses for the better parts of the days, as the police are always here, engaging youth in running battles and they just arrest even the innocent ones
She says children no longer walk in pairs for fear of being labeled gangsters adding that all she wants is for the girl to receive justice, even as she accused Bondeni OCS, Eric Wekesa, of wrongdoing.
Whitney’s younger sister, Rosalinda Apondi, said she was in the house going about her business when she heard gunshots from the road and dashed to the road to find out what was going on, only to discover that her sister had been shot.
“I saw her lying helplessly on the ground writhing in pain and bleeding profusely. I really pleaded to the police to take her to the hospital and to my amazement, they asked me to fuel the car or look for a motorcycle or a taxi to take her to the hospital,” she said amid tears.
She claimed that it took the intervention of one of the youths, who picked her sister up from the ground and ran towards the vehicle, which had started moving and stood in front of them, for them to allow the two to board and drive to Bondeni Police Station.
Ms. Apondi stated that she boarded a motorbike at Nakuru Teaching and Referral Hospital thinking that they would take her directly to the hospital, but thirty minutes later, a police vehicle arrived and Whitney was rushed to the emergency section.
“At the hospital, my sister kept assuring me that she was okay.“ The teenager said of the incident that sparked protests in Nakuru.
“At the hospital, my sister kept assuring me that she was okay.” The teenager said of the incident that sparked protests in Nakuru.
She recalls her last words as she stood there watching her die. She told me to greet my other siblings when I get home and tell them that she loves them,”
“I have not had a wink of sleep since she died. She was supposed to attend her class by 6 am but here we are mourning her,” said Ms. Apondi.
The family now wants justice for their relatives and has asked the police to conduct a thorough investigation and apprehend the perpetrator.
Ruth’s mother, Teresiah Wanjiku, stated that while her daughter was in stable condition, she needed surgery and was still traumatized by the events of that fateful day.
An eyewitness, who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation, stated that Bondeni Police Station Commanding Station Officer Mr. Erick Wekesa pulled the trigger, resulting in the death and injury.
They claimed that the police approached the youth who were simply playing cards near the salon, causing them to scatter and causing chaos.
They accused police of extortion, claiming that officers usually arrest them and demand large sums of money to release them.
Whitney was brought to Nakuru PGH by police officers around 6 p.m. through the accident and emergency designated area, according to Nakuru PGH Medical Superintendent Dr. Aisha Maina.
She stated that after the surgeons examined her, they discovered that the gunshot entered the epigastric area just below the chest and exited through the back.
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She stated that the patient was stabilized and admitted to the facility, but she died of her injuries at 8 p.m. while receiving fluid resuscitation.
Mr. Wilson Nduati, the acting police commander for Nakuru East Sub County, defended the officers, saying that they were on an
operation to flush out the outlawed confirmed gang in the area when they were attacked by youths in a group, forcing officers to shoot in the air to scare them away.
He claimed that the youths, armed with crude weapons, attacked the officers and attempted to stab the officer in charge of the operation after four of them were apprehended while the rest fled.
He stated that investigations have begun, with the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigation taking up the case.
Call For Justice As Form 4 Girl Is killed By Police, Another Injured