Residents of Nairobi’s Majengo estate have accused police officers of running an extortion scheme, and linked it to the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Ibrahim Ramadan, whose death triggered a violent confrontation in the suburb located 2.7 kilometres from the city centre.
Residents say a police officer shot Ramadan, a form four student at Kamukunji Secondary School, in the head on Tuesday night moments after he and a few friends left a nearby mosque.
Ibrahim Ramadhan's mother narrates how her son was shot by police officer in Majengo, Nairobi
While police claim that the shooting was the result of a drug bust, locals accuse the officer involved of firing his gun after an extortion bid went awry.
Locals, who spoke to the Nation.Africa on Wednesday, claimed that the officer is known for taking bribes from residents at a popular hall where some drug peddlers usually sell marijuana.
Protests erupt in Majengo, Pumwani, over police shooting death
But police spokesperson Michael Muchiri in a statement claimed that Ramadan was a suspected drug peddler, who was shot as police fired in the air to disperse a crowd that was blocking officers from arresting him.
Police officers deployed in the Majengo area of Kamukunji Constituency guard the area on Wednesday 5 March 2025, following a night of protests by youths over the alleged killing of a young man.
Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo | Nation
The police officer allegedly demanded a bribe from a group of youth at the hall, but they refused to part with any money.
“When he came to take his cut, the youth did not run as usual, they said they would not give him money and in return, he took a phone belonging to one of the youths and this started a fight. The young man who was fighting to get back his phone back then shouted that the officer was a thief!” Aisha Ali, an eyewitness, said.
Ali said that the distress calls attracted several youths, who started chasing the plainclothes officer. The officer fled.
Shortly after, eyewitnesses said, the officer encountered a group of teenagers walking from a nearby mosque. Ramadan, the deceased, was among them.
“The officer asked them where they were going and said he was arresting them for loitering. One of the youth asked why they were being arrested yet they had literally just walked from the mosque behind them,” a local, who declined to be named, said.
This question by the young man allegedly irked the officer who, in the presence of eyewitnesses, pulled the teenager by the shirt and held a gun to his forehead.
Residents of Majengo area in Nairobi County demonstrate over the killing of a young man allegedly by police officers on Tuesday night, in this picture taken on Wednesday, March 5, 2025.
Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo | Nation
The commotion had by then attracted the attention of local residents who were watching from a distance, well aware of what the gun could do.
“When the officer fired the gun, the young man ducked and the bullet went straight through Ramadan’s head who was behind his friend!” an eyewitness said.
But police spokesperson Muchiri said that police officers were on Tuesday evening pursuing a suspected drug peddler when they encountered a group of youth, who blocked the planned arrest.
“As a result, the two officers were injured as a result of being pelted with stones and crude weapons. They shot in the air as they tried to free themselves. A young man was shot in the melee and taken to hospital with a gunshot wound. This morning at around 3.15 am, the injured victim (who was last evening’s bhang suspect) died in hospital,” Muchiri said in a statement.
The suspect succumbed to the gunshot wound while in hospital prompting a reaction from angry youths who barricaded roads around Shauri Moyo and Majengo, Muchiri’s statement read further.
“Three unihut houses belonging to Kamukunji APS officers have been torched and police have removed them from the area. A motor vehicle belonging to Shauri Moyo Police station has been torched,” the statement added.
Moments before meeting his untimely death, the young man, who dreamt of being a pilot, had spent some time with his mother and headed to the mosque for evening prayers.
Unknown to his mother, Hadija Ramadan, this would be the last moments she was to spend with her son.
“Ibrahim (the deceased) came home and told me he had heard about the commotion and he was going to check what was happening before heading to the mosque for a short prayer session,” she said.
The next time she heard anything about her son, it was from a child in the area who told her that Ramadan had been fatally shot.
After Ramadan was shot, a young boy who knew his mother rushed to tell his (Ramadan’s) kin of what had happened.
Perplexed, Ms Ramadan rushed to the scene and upon seeing her son lying in a pool of his own blood, started screaming.
A good Samaritan, Imam Ismail Mohamed, offered to rush her and her son to Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital, where the police were also alerted because it was a bullet injury.
A senior officer from Shauri Moyo police station arrived at the hospital and informed the mother that her son would survive.
This hope was, however, short-lived as the medics handling Ramadan told his mother, and the few people who had escorted her to the hospital, that her son needed to be transferred to Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) for specialised treatment.
The police officer from Shauri Moyo informed the mother that her son would be taken to KNH by a police vehicle, which she objected to.
Ms Ramadan informed her neighbours in Majengo of the development, and several angry Majengo residents rushed to Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital to support the distressed mother.
It was eventually agreed that Mr Mohamed’s vehicle would take the injured teenager to the national referral hospital.
But delays in getting approvals from the Social Health Authority saw Ramadan lie helpless and unattended for four hours, with his mother left wondering whether her son’s life would have been saved if he had been treated earlier.
“At Kenyatta (KNH) we experienced delays arising from the system of the new Social Health Authority. From 9 pm to 1 am, my son was not attended to because of some issues with the system. The only thing being done was changing the bandage wrapped around his head. Unfortunately, he died at 1 am,” Ms Ramadan said.
Residents of Majengo area in Nairobi County demonstrates for killing of a young man allegedly by police officers on Tuesday night, in this picture taken on Wednesday, March 5, 2025.
Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo | Nation
When the news of Ramadan’s death reached Majengo early Wednesday morning, all hell broke loose.
By 5 am, angry residents stormed Majengo Police Post and set ablaze a police vehicle and police houses before destroying the local area chief’s office. They then blocked the road using burning tyres, demanding the arrest of the officer who shot Ramadan.
At 7 am, a contingent of police officers from the General Service Unit were deployed to Majengo.
For at least two hours, the GSU officers lobbed tear gas canisters and shot in the air to disperse protesters.
Ali Hussein, a youth leader in Majengo, described the two hours as 'hours from hell' and said several youths had been assaulted and physically attacked by officers.
By last night, at least ten youths were in KNH with serious injuries, and one, who has not yet been identified, was in a coma.
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Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo | Nation
For Mr Mohamed, the actions of the police were a clear display of insensitivity to the plight of the youth of Majengo who mostly come from humble backgrounds.
“I am very displeased by how police officers are handling the youth. Three years ago we buried ten youths who we know were killed by officers. Instead of killing them, why don’t they jail those selling drugs? Why abuse the youth of Majengo? This must stop,” he said.
Ojiro Odhiambo, a human rights officer at Vocal Africa however dismissed the police’s account saying the locals personally saw what happened and called on the Inspector General of Police to take action against the officer involved in the death of Ramadan.
“We have visited several victims of gunshot and teargas wounds at KNH and we all know it is the police who carry these items. As the human rights community, we are asking the police to exercise restraint on the young people. The use of force was unjustified. We call for an immediate, thorough, impartial and conclusive investigation into this incident of death and injury,” he said.
He also called on the Independent Policing Oversight Authority to take action against the officers adding that they have safeguarded several eyewitnesses who will assist the authority to bring the rogue officers to book.
