‘I didn’t believe my child had been killed’: Mother narrates pain of losing daughter during protests

Alice Nekesa, whose daughter, Caroline Shiramba, 35, lost her life during Tuesday’s protests, has had her life turned upside down.

Speaking on Wednesday, she said her daughter went to meet her at the market where she sells fruits in Ikolomani on the fateful evening and said she would have an early supper before proceeding home.

“All of a sudden, we saw a group of people approaching as officers engaged them in running battles,” she said.

She lost contact with her daughter in the fracas and a little while later, she said she heard people screaming that a woman had been killed.

“I didn’t know who it was that had been shot at first,” Alice said.

She proceeded to spend the night at a friend’s house for fear the route to her house was unsafe following the demos.

On proceeding to her business the following morning, Alcie said a fellow vendor approached her, condoling with her over “my loss”.

“I asked him why he was telling me sorry… He proceeded to tell me that he saw my daughter was shot by officers during the fracas the previous evening,” she said.

She said she was in denial as the man proceeded to say that her body was now at the mortuary.

“I told him he probably had confused my daughter with someone else. However, I did go to the mortuary and confirmed my worst fears that it was indeed her,” she said.

Morris Shiramba, Caroline’s mother, called for justice to be served, adding that they had lost the breadwinner in their home.

“I am a retiree and Caroline’s mother and I depended on her,” he said.

 At least 29 people have been killed across the country, and dozens injured in the protests against the Finance Bill 2023.

The protests led to President William Ruto rejecting the Bill on Wednesday and sending a memo back to Parliament with his recommendations that all clauses of the Bill be dropped.