A post-mortem examination on the bodies of two youths who died after a confrontation with police during the Saba Saba protests in Nanyuki, Laikipia County, was conducted yesterday.
The autopsy on 24-year-old Julia Wangui was, however, inconclusive, with pathologists requesting two weeks to undertake further analysis.
Although the three pathologists observed bleeding in her brain, they concluded that it did not appear traumatic enough to have caused her death.
“We don’t see direct injury to the head; therefore, we suspect the bleeding could have been caused by something other than trauma,” said Dr Peter Ndegwa, representing the Independent Medico-Legal Unit (Imlu).
Ms Irene Mumbi, an aunt to the late Julia Wangui Wamaitha.
Photo credit: Mwangi Ndirangu | Nation Media Group
He added that they would also examine other organs — the liver, pancreas, and lungs — which showed abnormalities. A toxicology test will also be carried out.
Additionally, the pathologists are waiting for a report from doctors who treated Wangui after she collapsed at Nanyuki Women’s Prison.
Family spokesperson Susan Rienye said the family was satisfied with the preliminary findings and would wait for the final report, expected on July 28.
Meanwhile, James Wambugu, a Form Three student at Bingwa Secondary School who was shot by a police officer during the Saba Saba protests in Nanyuki, died from excessive bleeding, the post-mortem exam has revealed. In their report, three pathologists indicated that a bullet struck Wambugu on the right hip and exited through the left.
“Wambugu died as a result of quiet haemorrhage due to a single gunshot wound in the pelvic area. The bullet severed several blood vessels, including the large and small intestines,” said Dr Ndegwa.
The report was a unanimous finding, corroborated by government pathologist Dr Ayub Gitaka and Dr Dorothy Njeru, who represented the family.
The autopsy was conducted under tight security at the Nanyuki Teaching and Referral Hospital mortuary with only authorised persons allowed past the gate.
Representatives from the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (Ipoa), the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), and the Homicide Department of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) were present.
Mr Lawrence Kiriinya, Wambugu’s father and a serving DCI officer in Meru County, attended the autopsy but declined to speak to the press.
“Whoever shot our last-born brother should face the law. Wambugu had big dreams, which were abruptly cut short by a police bullet,” he said.
The family also appealed to the government to waive the hospital bill. Wambugu, 23, was shot during a confrontation with police at Likii Estate on Saba Saba.
He had left home at 6am for school, about two kilometres away. Unknown to the family, however, he intended to join the protests. According to Mr Kirimi, his younger brother wore civilian clothes over his school uniform and carried a school bag at the time of the shooting.
The incident was captured in a viral video showing youths throwing stones at two armed, plain-clothes police officers. One officer fired into the air to disperse the crowd. Moments later, Wambugu is seen falling to the ground and then crawling as his colleagues carried him away.
He was rushed to the Nanyuki Teaching and Referral Hospital where he died on the morning of July 8, 2025. Ironically, Wambugu had previously dropped out of school and only resumed his education following a near-fatal robbery.
The incident occurred in September 2022, when he was attacked in Isiolo Town by two knife-wielding robbers who stole his motorcycle and inflicted serious injuries on his neck, leaving him for dead.
After weeks in the Intensive Care Unit and a full recovery, Wambugu resolved to return to school and pursue his dream of becoming a doctor.
“He had quit school and relocated to Isiolo. After the attack, he enrolled in Form One in 2023 and vowed to become a doctor to save lives, just as the medics saved him,” his mother Ms Jane Kinanu said at their home in Katheri village.
Wambugu’s death, along with that of Julia Wangui, who died while in legal custody, sparked tensions in Nanyuki town. Youths threatened to storm the police station in protest.
