On Monday morning, Wendy Ateka was cleaning her house in Luanda, Vihiga County, while her husband, Denis Omondi, helped with chores, washing utensils and preparing tea as they followed a routine they had built together over two years of marriage.
Around 9 am, Mr Omondi left home to buy bread from a nearby shopping centre, less than a kilometre away, so they could have their breakfast together.
Ms Wendy finished her cleaning and waited, assuming her husband had delayed after meeting friends. When it got to 11 am, she began to worry, although she still chose not to call him, believing he would be back soon.
At noon, her mother called and told her to go to Luanda town to check on her husband.
“I didn’t understand. He had just gone to buy bread,” Ms Wendy said.
Denis Omondi, a deejay from Luanda, Vihiga County, who was allegedly shot by the police on May 4, 2026.
Photo credit: Domnic Ombok | Nation Media Group
When she opened her door to leave, she found people gathered outside her house, and a woman standing nearby asked if it was Omondi’s home before delivering the news directly.
“Denis has been shot by police officers in Luanda,” the informer said.
The 26-year-old rushed to Great Lakes Hospital, where she found her husband lying lifeless, with a gunshot wound to the head.
Witnesses say Mr Omondi had stopped to observe some commotion in town involving boda boda riders and police when a police officer shot him.
Police officers then took him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Wendy Ateka, the wife of Denis Omondi who was allegedly shot by the police, displays a portrait of her husband during an interview in Luanda, Vihiga County, on May 5, 2026.
Photo credit: Domnic Ombok | Nation Media Group
Police say the shooting occurred during clashes with boda boda riders in Luanda after roads were blocked and some people began looting and setting tyres on fire. Officers responded by firing teargas to disperse the crowd.
According to Boda boda chairperson John Omenyo, a newly deployed police officer (OCS) confiscated about 26 motorcycles without explanation on Sunday, May 3.
In retaliation, the riders protested by blocking the road to get an audience with the new police boss.
However, witnesses say the two victims were not involved. Tony was on his way home when he was shot, while Denis had gone to buy bread when he was also shot.
Mr Omondi was 33 years old, a deejay, a husband, and a father to an eight-month-old child.
“We were inseparable. We walked together everywhere,” she said.
He often carried their baby in a front carrier, drawing admiration from people in town.
“He was a present father,” she said.
She mentioned that her husband had plans to improve their life and support her career as a beautician.
“He wanted to open a beauty shop for me,” she said.
To Ms Wendy, his loss is not only emotional but deeply disorienting, because her husband was her partner and also her only immediate family, having grown up as an orphan without a clearly defined home village—a reality that now complicates even the question of where he will be buried.
“I don’t know where we will bury him. When my mother died a year ago, burying her became difficult until one of my brothers agreed to do it,” she said.
On Sunday evening, a day before Omondi was killed, 18-year-old Tony Opudo was also shot dead in Luanda.
Tony had recently visited his father, Joel Opudo, in Gem, Siaya County, three weeks ago, bringing food supplies and collecting documents to apply for his national ID.
That evening, as he walked to his rented house, a police officer allegedly shot him in the neck from a rooftop. He died on the spot.
His body lies at the Coptic Morgue, with the bullet still lodged in it.
“I can’t imagine the pain he went through; he still has the bullet in his neck,” says his father, fighting back tears.
Protesting boda boda riders burn tyres and barricade the Kisumu-Busia Highway in Luanda, Vihiga County, on May 4, 2026.
Photo credit: Alex Odhiambo | Nation Media Group
“He wanted to build me a house and support my treatment,” Mr Opudo said.
Tony’s mother died during childbirth, and he was raised by his older sister, Sharon Opudo.
“I was like a mother to him. We spoke every day,” she said.
“When I heard he had been shot, I almost collapsed,” she said.
Tony’s employer, Luka Kuya, who worked with him at Fadhili Star Academy in Luanda, described him as disciplined and committed to his work.
“I was his boss; I employed him at the school where I work as a caretaker, and he assisted in cleaning,” Mr Kuya said.
“He was a good boy and hardworking. He took the job as his own and was very polite,” Mr Kuya asserted.
“When I heard he had been shot on Sunday, I was shocked. I called his sister and informed her of what had happened,” he explained.
“He died on the spot, and the bullet is still in his body,” Mr Kuya added.
Riders protested by blocking the road, and police responded with tear gas and gunfire.
“Several people were injured, and two were shot dead. Those killed were not boda boda riders,” Mr Omenyo said.
Anti-riot police officers ikeep watch at Ebusakami Junction in Luanda town, Vihiga County, following protests by boda boda riders on the Kisumu-Busia Highway on May 4, 2026.
Photo credit: Alex Odhiambo | Nation Media Group
The shootings triggered two days of demonstrations that paralysed transport along the Kisumu–Busia Road, forcing vehicles to divert and businesses to close.
Luanda Sub-County DCIO Godhard Mburu said security officials held a meeting but did not disclose the outcome.
Vihiga County Commissioner Peter Maina stated that two people died and several police officers were injured, adding that discussions with local leaders were ongoing.
Families are now calling for investigations and justice, including intervention from the Independent Policing Oversight Authority.
