At around 1am in the early hours of July 3, 2024, a loud bang followed by terrified cries and distress calls shattered the deafening silence in Jogoo Estate, Kisii County.
The desperate cries for help came from the home of a widow named Isabela Mogesi.
A group of unknown men, estimated to be in their 40s and heavily armed with all sorts of weapons, had broken into Mogesi's home.
"I heard someone asking my children, 'Are you the ones who were brought from Nairobi to come and protest in Kisii?'"
"I was too terrified to open the door and intercede for my children. However, from my hiding spot, I could see one of them lying prostrate on the verandah and surrounded by a group of vicious looking men," she narrated.
But while she was still trying to decide what to do next, her eldest son, Brian Philip, 31, who was sleeping in another house in the same compound, went out to question the attackers.
According to Mogesi, Philip pleaded with the men to show mercy to his younger siblings, telling the intruders that his brothers were innocent and had not taken part in the street protests.
“They didn't listen to any of that, instead they kept on beating up the boys mercilessly while repeatedly asking, ‘Is it you who usually gets paid to protest?’” said Philip.
"They were around 40 or so," said Philip.
As this was happening, Philip's mother quietly called her brother-in-law, Wycliffe Monari.
But by the time Monari arrived, the attackers had left with one of her sons, Braxton Omae Mogesi.
Mogesi recalled that her son's abductors claimed they were attacking the boys because they had been transported from Nairobi to take part in the July 2, 2024 protest in Kisii town.
Omae's horrific abduction marked the beginning of a long, traumatic search — from police stations to hospital wards and even mortuaries.
Little did his family know that the search would end a week later in a place known as Nyahera in neighbouring Homa Bay County.
"I received a phone call from a stranger indicating that somebody resembling my son had been found dead in Nyahera, Rachuonyo South Sub-county. We rushed there and found the police taking the body to the mortuary at Rachuonyo Sub-county Hospital in Oyugis town. We followed them there and confirmed that it was indeed my son, Braxton,” said the distraught mother.
Braxton's body had very deep cuts on his head and neck, and his scrotum had been severed.
Police in Rachuonyo South told the family that the body was found lying by the road in Nyahera area, a stone's throw from the Kisii-Homa Bay border.
Dr Tobias Ochola, who conducted a post-mortem examination on the body at Rachuonyo Sub-county Hospital, said strangulation and excessive blood loss caused the death of the 23-year-old man.
Some neck vessels were also gorged out with a circular bruise: “circumferential on the neck, in keeping with a string”.
“I cry for justice for my child. I was surprised to hear that he was accused of participating in the protests. We were not aware of this. I wish they informed me of his sins,” Mogesi said in tears.
Contrary to claims that Braxton had travelled from Nairobi to join the protests in Kisii, his mother said her son had been in Kisii all along.
"It is true that he used to be in Nairobi but for the past three months he has been living here with me,” she said.
Monari, Braxton's uncle, condemned his killing and questioned why his nephew was not taken to court if he had broken the law.
“We have no clue about the identity of his killers and their exact motive. If it is true he was a bad boy then he should have been prosecuted and taken to jail. We want to know the truth from Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki and President William Ruto,” he demanded.
Braxton's brother, who was beaten during the abduction, has since sunk into depression and lives in extreme fear, avoiding public appearances.
"We are afraid even as we plan for my nephew's burial. He may have done something wrong which we do not know m, but we plead with the killers to forgive us and spare us and allow us to bury him in peace. We are also pleading with the government to offer us protection,” he urged.
Braxton attended Enoosaen Boys High School in Narok County, where he sat his Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exam.
"Braxton wanted to go to college and study Information Technology. In fact, they had already discussed this with our mother," said his brother Philip.
He was a strong supporter of Shabana FC, a Gusii-based football team.
