Meru residents demand justice over alleged police killing of teenager
Lawyer Kuria Karatu speaks to the press. Photo by Brian Gitonga
Family and community members march on Meru Police Station after 17-year-old is shot dead in Majengo, accusing authorities of inaction
By Brian Gitonga
Residents of Majengo in Imenti North Constituency, Meru County, took to the streets yesterday demanding justice for a 17-year-old boy allegedly shot dead by a police officer, accusing authorities of failing to investigate the incident or communicate with the family in the days since his death.
The protesters, accompanied by the deceased’s relatives and their lawyer, marched from Majengo to Meru Police Station, where they held a press briefing and called for accountability over a shooting they say occurred on Saturday.
The boy’s aunt, Carol Maina, addressed journalists outside the station, describing her nephew as a well-behaved child and questioning why lethal force had been used against him. “We have so many unanswered questions as a family. Our son was a very obedient child, and we cannot understand why his life was taken. All we want is justice for him,” she said.
Maina alleged the incident was the third killing of a young person in the area, raising broader concerns about the safety of children and youth in Majengo. She said parents were living in fear and called on authorities to intervene. “We cannot sit back and accept a situation where our children cannot move freely or speak without the fear of being shot like chickens,” she said.
The deceased’s cousin, Catherine Mbaya, accused police of withholding information from the family despite several days having passed since the shooting. She maintained the teenager had not committed any offence that justified the use of lethal force. “Our child did nothing wrong, and that is why we insist that justice must be served. We will not relent until we get justice for him,” Mbaya said.
The family’s lawyer, Kuria Karatu, raised serious procedural concerns, alleging that investigations had not commenced and that the crime scene had been interfered with, potentially compromising key evidence. He said a postmortem examination had not yet been conducted and that spent bullet cartridges had not been recovered from the scene.
“The postmortem has not been conducted to establish the cause of death, and the spent bullet cartridges have not been recovered. We suspect that no investigations have commenced,” Karatu said. He demanded a thorough and transparent inquiry, warning that residents would continue pressing for answers until those responsible were held accountable.
The protesters also called on police command to provide regular updates on the investigation’s progress, saying the absence of any official communication had deepened community suspicion over how the case was being handled.
The family’s demands were clear: a full postmortem, preservation of evidence, formal confirmation of whether their relative was suspected of any offence and a credible timeline for the investigation.
The allegations — including claims of previous killings in Majengo, interference with the crime scene and failure to open investigations — could not be independently verified at the time of publication. Efforts to reach Imenti North Sub-County Police Commander Hassan Bashir and the Meru County Police Commander for comment were unsuccessful before deadline.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority, which is mandated to investigate deaths and injuries resulting from police action in Kenya, had not issued a public statement on the matter by the time of publication.
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