Four people have died following the fracas that accompanied Friday's Saba Saba demonstrations in Kisii and Migori counties.
A number of victims are also recuperating in various hospitals in the two counties after confrontation with police during the protest turned chaotic. Hundreds of residents had turned out in solidarity with fellow Kenyans to call out the government over the skyrocketing cost of living.
On Sunday, Nation.Africa learned that a team from the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) had pitched tent in the region on a fact-finding mission following an outcry that police had used excessive force to quell the demonstrations.
The four include a woman and three men; one from Migori who was due to join a university in September, and a student who was about to complete her studies at Kisii National Polytechnic.
While police authorities in the two counties remained tight-lipped, families of the victims came out on Sunday to demand justice for their loved ones.
In Kisii Town, a trader whose shop was allegedly targeted by a trigger-happy officer is still reeling after his sister-in-law, who also doubled as one of his employees, was shot dead.
The trader, Mzee Mbui, said: "The girl was a student at Kisii National Polytechnic and I used to pay her fees and maintenance. She used to work at our Mpesa shop when she was not at school.
On Friday, police fought running battles with protesters in Kisii town for more than eight hours. They reportedly resorted to live ammunition after being overwhelmed by the protesters and running out of tear gas.
During the fighting, nine bullets were fired at Mr Mbui's shop. One of the bullets hit his sister-in-law, identified as Ms Eunice Mutheu.
"I don't know why they targeted my shop because other shops around here were not shot at," he said, showing the holes left by the bullets that tore through the wall of his shop.
"The girl comes from a very poor family. That's why I brought her from our home in Mwingi to help her study. I don't know what to tell her family," he said.
He said that during the shooting, his six workers who were in the shop were forced to lie on the floor to avoid the bullets.
"The girl had a bullet wound that went through one side of her waist and ended on the other side," the trader said.
The victim was rushed to Ram Hospital in Kisii Town where she died on Saturday while undergoing treatment. Her family has already lodged a complaint at Kisii Police Station under OB 95/8/7/2023.
Eunice Mutheu, a tailoring student at Kisii National Polytechnic who was shot by police on Friday while in their Mpesa shop within Kisii town.
Photo credit: Courtesy | Family
In the same county, a family in Otamba village is in mourning after their 24-year-old son was shot dead during Friday's demonstrations in Kisii Town.
The body of John Musa was found at the Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital (KTRH) mortuary on Saturday, the family said.
"I was at home when a young man came and told me that my son had been shot by the police in Kisii Town," said his father, Musa Nyandusi.
Following the report, Nyandusi mobilised family members to search for Musa.
"His phone was not working so we decided to look for him physically," said Nyandusi.
They visited hospitals in the city where people injured during the demonstrations had reportedly been taken for treatment.
"Finally, we went to the KTRH mortuary where I was able to identify my son's body," Nyandusi said.
John Musa. He was shot dead by police near KCB Bank in Kisii town during the Friday Saba Saba demonstrations.
Photo credit: Courtesy | Family
"It is as if he was shot in the back and the bullet entered his body before exiting through his stomach," he said.
Musa, the father said, was single after separating from his wife a few months ago. He had no children.
He revealed that mortuary attendants had told him that three bodies with gunshot wounds had been brought to the facility.
A senior police officer, who declined to be quoted due to the sensitivity of the matter, confirmed in confidence that three people had died of gunshot wounds on Friday and their bodies were at the Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital mortuary and Hema, a privately owned mortuary.
In Masare, Migori County, a widowed mother is mourning the death of her son, who was due to start university in September.
Carol Atieno, who works on construction sites, said her son Reagan Otieno, who was shot dead in Migori town on Friday, was innocent.
"I don't know why my son was killed and I want the government to tell me," said a tearful Atieno.
Residents said the slain youth was an asset not only to his mother, but to the wider community and the world.
"This widow had pinned her hopes on Reagan," said a neighbour, Jane Orimbo.
The mother does odd jobs to pay her Sh2,000 house rent and put food on the table, Orimbo said.
Cyrus Owiti, a brother of the deceased, called on the government to clarify why police shot unarmed and harmless protesters.
"If it is a crime to take to the streets, what about a policeman kneeling down and pointing his gun at an innocent person like my brother and killing him?" asked Owiti.
"Kenyans cannot remain silent when life becomes difficult for them. Guns are not bought with the taxes Kenyans pay to kill them," he said.
The Migori County chairman of the Kenya Parents Association (KPA), Julius Kiberenge, echoed the family's call for justice.
"This family is poor and the boy was their only hope," Kiberenge said.
He said the boy was in the care of his mother and was expected to go to university and eventually help the family turn their lives around.
"The government should tell us which clause of the constitution allows the police to shoot peaceful demonstrators," Kiberenge said.
Meanwhile, the evidence of the dramatic encounter between police and demonstrators in Kisii town was still visible on Sunday.
Several patches of dark ash from the embers of bonfires lit by old tyres on Friday littered the streets of the town.
On Friday, police in Kisii appeared to have been caught off guard, as the town has not seen massive demonstrations in recent years.
As a result, on Friday morning, a large number of county police were sent to Migori and Kisumu, where intense demonstrations were expected.
This did not go as planned as what started as a joke in Kisii town ended up being the nerve centre of the day's demonstrations.
On Friday, Kisii County Police Commander Charles Kases said he could not confirm whether there had been any deaths or how many people had been injured.
However, he said those shot had attempted to break into a local branch of the Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB).
By press time on Sunday, police had yet to give an official update on the whole matter.
