Saba Saba: Gathoni Wamuchomba Mourns 10-Year-Girl Shot Dead While at Home
- A Grade 7 learner was among the casualties of a police confrontation with Kenyans who took to the streets in the Saba Saba Day commemoration
- Bridget Wainaina, 10, was at her parents' home in Ndumberi, Kiambu county, when an officer's stray bullet struck her
- Githunguri MP Gathoni Wamuchomba, while protesting the death, blamed the police for recklessness with their firearms
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Another round of protests against the police was staged in Kiambu after a young girl died by gunshot at the height of the Saba Saba demonstrations on Monday, July 7.
Source: Getty Images
Briget Wainana's life was cut short after being struck by a stray bullet in Ndumberi, Kiambu County.
How did Kiambu girl meet her death?
The round was fired by officers who were pushing back crowds as they occupied the streets during the commemoration of the historic day.
Githunguri MP Gathoni Wamuchomba was among those who protested the death.
She was pained that whilst her parents' home should have been Bridget's safe haven, the bullet of the police would not spare her, even without having to provoke the law enforcers.
"The death of an innocent 10-year-old girl from a bullet that got her in her home in Kiriguini, Ndumberi, Kiambu county is very painful. The girl didn’t go to school to be safe but the bullet got her from her home and left her dead," Wamuchomba lamented.
Wamuchomba implied that the bullet was fired deliberately.
She linked it to the recent pronouncements by Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, who asked the law enforcers to use their firearms when faced with danger.
Murkomen's sentiments were interpreted as a stark "shoot to kill" command.
"I’m in pain and defeated to see many young people die from bullets during demonstrations. We can confirm that the recent order to shoot to kill by the Security Minister was taken seriously. But why shoot to kill an innocent girl? May her spirit trace her killers. May her Guardian angel take over. I’m in true pain," Wamuchomba mourned.
On the ground, locals gathered on Tuesday, July 8, to protest the girl's death.
She added to the list of six who were killed in Kiambu county at the peak of the police's confrontation with the public as the former ran after the protesters who had got out of hand on Monday.
Anticipating chaotic scenes as the Ndumberi locals showed up in the streets to protest Bridget's death, police were deployed to repulse any attempt at disorder.
Major roads into Ndumberi were barricaded; the police kept a full-time guard.
How many people died in Saba Saba protests?
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights indicated in its report that demonstrations led to the deaths of at least 10 individuals across the country, 29 injuries, two abductions, and 37 arrests spanning 17 counties.
In its report, the National Police Service documented at least 11 deaths during the unrest.
According to the service, the police were not spared in the chaos.
At least 52 officers were injured alongside 11 civilians.
The clashes also resulted in damage to at least 12 police vehicles and three other government-owned cars.
Authorities also detained more than 567 people.
Proofreading by Asher Omondi, copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
