Family seeks justice after kin was killed during Ol Kalou by-election

The family says Zacharia Gakinya was attacked by armed goons near a polling station after returning home to cast his vote. He later died from his injuries while receiving treatment. 

The deceased’s wife, Mary Wanjiru, says she received the devastating news through a phone call from a friend informing her that her husband had been rushed to a nearby private hospital after the attack.

"My husband usually votes in Huhoi-ini and I vote in Rurii. Everyone went to vote. I cast my vote and returned to work at the salon. Around 4:00 PM, I called him to check on how he was doing, but a neighbor answered and said they were at Pine Hospital,” says Wanjiru.

According to the family, the deceased suffered serious injuries after he was attacked by armed men, prompting his transfer to Nakuru for further treatment.

"They had beaten him all over his back, but the greatest pain was from his face up; he was very swollen. When I arrived, he was crying in severe pain, saying, 'I don't know these people, and I don't know what they were questioning me about,” Wanjiru adds. 

"They were three victims. Two managed to escape, but he was thrown down because he had a backpack on his back. He was hit with the butt of a gun, which cracked his skull and caused internal bleeding,” says Gitui Muchiri, a resident of Rurii.

Residents say the voting process was peaceful until the afternoon, when a group of armed men traveling in high-end vehicles stormed the area and began attacking residents.

"We had many police officers here, even the Anti-Stock Theft Unit—people who deal with the wilderness. They have always dealt with cattle rustling and have never caught a single thief, but on election day, when we were at peace, we don't know where the violence came from. People were being beaten indiscriminately. They didn't care whether we had voted for them or not,” Ol-Kalou resident John Kariuki recalls.

The residents are now demanding thorough investigations and justice for all victims of the election-related violence, citing another fatal incident in Kwa Mumbi, Kiambaga Ward, where a man was reportedly shot dead in a similar attack.