A senior police officer who allegedly shot dead a schoolgirl in Nakuru City more than two years ago is yet to be charged over the killing.
Chief Inspector Erick Mukone Wekesa, who was leading a team of police officers during a raid of Lakeview Estate to flush out criminals linked to the outlawed Confirm gang, allegedly shot and killed Whitney Atieno,19, a secondary school student.
During the incident that hit headlines on June 12, 2022, a few months to the last General Election, Ruth Waithera,18, also a student, sustained serious gunshot wounds.
The late Whitney Atieno.
Photo credit: Courtesy
However, more than two years later, the officer, then the Bondeni OCS, is still walking free, even after the ODPP recommended his arrest and prosecution.
Atieno succumbed to her injuries while receiving treatment at the Nakuru Level Five Hospital, while Waithera sustained serious gunshot injuries and was admitted to the same facility for two weeks.
Atieno, a form four student at the Nakuru Central Secondary School, and Waithera from the nearby Flamingo Secondary School had visited the same saloon to plait their hair when they were shot.
The two were attracted by a commotion outside the salon, when the trigger-happy officer, who was identified by the residents as the Officer Commanding Bondeni Police station, fired and shot them.
An autopsy that was conducted on the remains of Atieno at the Nakuru Level Five Hospital mortuary on June 23, 2023, revealed that he died due to bleeding as a result of a single gunshot to her chest.
Government Pathologist Titus Ngulungu revealed in the autopsy report that the bullet went through the front part of the abdomen and exited on the lower back.
Residents of Lake View estate in Nakuru protest over the killing of form four student Whitney Atieno in this photo taken on 13 June 2022.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
He reported that the body had no other significant injuries, describing the morphology of the wound as that resulting from a close-range discharge— estimated to be not more than 50 metres.
“As a result of my examination, I have formed the opinion that the cause of death was massive blood loss due to a single gunshot to the abdomen,” noted the pathologist.
Whitney was buried on July 2, 2022, in Ukwala sub-County, Siaya County.
However, two years after the incident, the two families have been on the journey of getting justice, with only hopes that their prayers will finally be answered.
In a phone interview with the Nation , Atieno’s father Leonard Ogunyo, said the family is yet to get justice nearly three years later.
"Despite the existence of enough evidence, the officer has never been arraigned. We are yet to get justice as a family," Mr Ogunyo told the Nation .
“We are still waiting nearly three years later. I always pick any phone calls even from strange numbers, with hopes that the caller will tell me that my daughter's killer is finally being charged with the murder,” he said.
The 56-year-old matatu tout said it has been a rough journey seeking justice over her daughter’s death, whose life was cut short by an officer meant to protect life, with their hopes of seeking justice fading each day.
“My daughter’s life was going on well when the police officer robbed her of a bright future. She was a very bright, hardworking and disciplined girl, who could have joined university. We had so much hope in her,” he said amid tears.
“It has been a tough journey that I do not wish anyone to go through, but God has stood with my family, all the struggle and pain we have gone through to get justice to be served for my daughter so that her soul can rest in eternal peace will one day pay off,” he added.
Residents console Roselinda Apondi at Lake View estate in Nakuru, who lost her sister Whitney Atieno in an alleged police killing, in this photo taken on June 13, 2022.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
The Nakuru Independent Police Oversight Authority (Ipoa) officers took over the matter and after completing investigations, they made a recommendation and forwarded the file to their legal committee in Nairobi which went through the file.
The committee later forwarded the file to the ODPP to make an opinion based on their investigations on who to charge before a court of law.
On October 3,2024, the DPP recommended that the former Bondeni Police Station Erick Wekesa be charged with the murder of Whitney Atieno.
A court file at the Nakuru High Court showed that the DPP prayed for a summons against the officer for plea taking on October 8, 2024.
The court issued summons to PC Wekesa for the purpose of plea taking on October 16,2024.
However, he has never appeared in court.
Mr Wekesa's advocate who appeared in court on October 16 told the court that his client did not appear despite the summons since he was unwell and was to undergo a heart surgery and prayed for more time before he appears to answer to murder charges.
However, the Nation learned that on January 29, 2025, the DPP recalled the file for review and requested a further court mention.
“The DPP recommended that he be charged last year, but the officer has never appeared in court. We want the judicial process to be expedited so that the officer takes a plea for the family to get justice for the young life which was lost,” Nakuru Human Rights Director David Kuria said.
