The Anatomy of an Incident
The trader, currently recovering from a shattered femur, has provided a detailed timeline of the events of Sunday, February 8. His account highlights a disturbing pattern of engagement in residential areas:
No Warning: Contrary to the Police Spokesperson’s claim that warning shots were fired into the air, the survivor states that the officer who shot him was firing parallel to the ground, directly into a row of active businesses.
The Victim’s Role: While the police characterized the crowd as “incited youth throwing projectiles,” the survivor was a 42-year-old father of three simply trying to secure his electronics shop for the night.
The Weaponry: The victim’s family has called for a forensic audit of the ammunition used, noting that the injury was caused by a full-metal jacket round, typically associated with assault rifles rather than standard riot control gear.
2. IPOA’s Rapid Response: Collecting the Fragments
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) has escalated the case to a “Priority One” investigation.
Scene Reconstruction: On Wednesday, IPOA investigators returned to Huruma Sector 361B to map the trajectory of the bullet. They recovered a second slug embedded in a wooden door frame just inches from where children were reportedly hiding.
Ballistic Matching: All firearms issued to officers at the Huruma Police Post on the day of the protest have been recalled for ballistic testing. IPOA is working to match the fragment removed from the trader at Mama Lucy Hospital to a specific service rifle.
[Image showing a map of Huruma Sector 361B with red markers indicating where the student was killed and where the trader was subsequently shot]
3. The “Code of Silence” vs. The Community
The most significant hurdle in the investigation remains the failure of the National Police Service to name the officers involved.
The Demand for Names: Through the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), the Huruma business community has threatened to sue the Inspector General of Police personally if the “shooter” is not identified and interdicted by the end of the week.
Protecting Witnesses: Following reports of “intimidating” visits by plainclothes officers to the hospital, human rights groups have moved the trader to a secure facility to ensure his testimony remains untainted before the court.
