Saba Saba: Nanyuki family seeks justice after daughter dies in police custody

The family of Julia Njoki is demanding justice for their daughter as they remain unconvinced about the circumstances surrounding her death after the Saba Saba protests.

According to her family, Njoki was heading home on the fateful evening of the protests when she was rounded up with other protesters and taken to Nanyuki Police Station where she spent the night.

She was arraigned in Nanyuki Law Courts the following day and released on a Ksh.50,000 bond which they were unable to raise at the moment and it resulted to her being held at Nanyuki GK prison remand.

It was during this time that, her grandmother Susan Rienye alleges, she was brutally assaulted by officers.

The 24-year-old was taken to Nanyuki Teaching and Referral Hospital on Wednesday after developing complications but later succumbed while receiving treatment.

A preliminary medical report obtained by the family indicates that Njoki suffered blunt force trauma to the head, consistent with a severe beating.

A postmortem examination is expected to be conducted on Tuesday next week to ascertain the cause of death.

The incident has sparked widespread condemnation, with human rights groups and members of the public calling for an independent investigation into Njoki’s death and systemic reforms within the National Police Service.

Thomas Gachara, a Form Three student at Bingwa Secondary school in Nanyuki, also lost his life after he was shot dead while coming out of school.

Njoki and Gachara are said to have died on two separate incidences which are both pointing at police recklessness.

Two other youths, Felix Karani and Felix Thuranira, are also admitted at Nanyuki Teaching and Referral Hospital with bullet wounds in their legs.

These incidences have resulted to protests in Nanyuki with the people strongly convinced that these deaths have been caused by rogue police officers.

They have strongly condemned theses incidences calling for action to the police officers who perpetrated these acts.