Edwin Keitany, a boda boda rider recuperates on his hospital bed after he was assaulted and later shot in the head by a police officer after he rode his wife home at night.
What began as a routine ride for Edwin Kigen Keitany, a 24-year-old bodaboda rider from Mogotio, a border town in Nakuru and Baringo Counties, quickly turned into a night of horror, pain, and trauma — one that ended with a bullet lodged in his head.
It was around 10 p.m. on March 26 when Keitany was approached by a woman who needed a ride. Despite it being late, Keitany, stationed at his usual spot in town, agreed after they settled on a fare of Sh100.
“I work until late since my stage is within Mogotio town. It wasn’t my business to ask where she was coming from at that hour,” Keitany recalled from his hospital bed. “I didn’t know her — it was my first time seeing her. I just ferried her as a normal client. I wish I had declined.”
Upon arrival at the woman’s destination, another motorcycle rider dropped off a man — who Keitany later learned was the woman's husband. As soon as she asked the man to pay the fare, he responded with a barrage of questions about where she had been and why she was late.
Then, suddenly, he pulled out a pistol.
“He ordered us to kneel and threatened to kill us if we didn’t tell him the truth,” said Keitany.
Despite the woman pleading with her husband and explaining that Keitany was just a rider she had hired, the man refused to listen.
He assaulted her, and she managed to escape, leaving Keitany alone with the furious man.
Accusations and torture
Keitany’s nightmare had just begun.
The man, later identified as a senior police officer, accused him of having an affair with his wife.
“He kept questioning me, kicked me repeatedly, and accused me of things I had no idea about,” Keitany said.
At one point, the man forced him to carry a 20-kilogram bag of maize using only his teeth while pushing his motorbike into the compound.
Inside the compound, Keitany was forced to lie on the ground as the interrogation continued.
“I don’t remember when exactly I was shot. I just passed out. When I woke up, I felt a sharp pain in my head and realized I was bleeding,” he said.
“Even then, he didn’t stop. I was in his hands. I just did whatever he told me, despite the pain.”
Long ride to hospital
Later, the man ordered Keitany to ride with him to Rongai Police Station.
But midway, he changed his mind and directed him to a private hospital instead — a facility where Keitany had previously worked as a security guard before he bought a motorcycle and joined the boda boda business.
“It was cold. I was bleeding and in pain. Every time I slowed down, he hit me with the pistol. Luckily, the hospital staff helped me.”
The total distance is estimated to be just about five kilometres, a torturous distance for the bleeding man.
A head scan showing a bullet lodged in the skull of Edwin Keitany.
Keitany’s father, Saimon Koskey, was woken up by a call at 1 am.
The caller, who identified himself as a doctor, asked him to rush to the hospital as his son had been injured and needed urgent transfer to the Nakuru Teaching and Referral Hospital.
“I found him in so much pain,” he said.
“Before we went to Nakuru, we stopped by Mogotio Police Station but were referred to Athinai Police Station, where the incident occurred.”
Mr Koskey said they eventually opted for a private hospital, fearing delays that could cost his son’s life.
“We were later informed that the bullet was lodged in his head and would require surgery, which will cost over Sh500,000— a huge burden for our family.”
Keitany’s uncle, Samuel Kigen, called on detectives to expedite investigations and charge the suspect in court.
“We were told he was arrested, but he hasn’t been taken to court yet. We just want justice. What he did was inhumane.”
Samuel Kigen, uncle for Edwin Keitany, a boda boda rider demands justice for his nephew who was assaulted and later shot in the head by a police officer after he rode his wife home at night.
A resident medical officer at the hospital said Keitany was brought in during the early hours of Thursday, having self-referred from a Baringo health center.
“He had an open gunshot wound to the frontal part of the head, with severe soft tissue injury and bleeding from the brain. A CT scan showed multiple bullet fragments in the right frontal region,” the doctor said.
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Keitany has since been reviewed by a neurosurgeon and placed on medication as he awaits surgery. “At admission, he was confused and unstable. He’s now stable but still awaiting brain surgery to remove the bullet fragments. There’s no exit wound — the injury is almost 4cm deep,” the medic added.
According to a police report, the suspect has been identified as Senior Sergeant James Kenei, attached to the DCI office in Molo.
The officer was arrested and disarmed. His Jericho pistol, found loaded with 14 rounds of 9mm ammunition, has been taken in for forensic analysis.
“The said pistol was taken over by DCI Molo officers to be handed over to DCI Rongai for specialized analysis. The officer has been booked at Menengai Police Station pending further police action. The IPOA has been informed accordingly,” the report said.
As Keitany begins his long journey to recovery, his family waits — not only for healing but for justice to be served.
