Samuel Omondi Okoth, a 21-year-old Nairobi resident, is fighting for his life at Kenyatta National Hospital after being shot eight times in the back, allegedly by a police officer, during the anti-government protests held on Tuesday, June 17.
The peaceful protest, which began as a youth-led march, turned chaotic when unknown goons infiltrated the crowd. According to Okoth, police officers, instead of de-escalating the situation, watched the violence unfold, and then opened fire.
“I was just talking to the officer about the other shooting. The next thing I know, I felt a heavy impact on my back,” Okoth recounted from his hospital bed, barely able to shift due to excruciating pain.
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Doctors at KNH have already removed seven rubber bullets from his body. However, one bullet remains lodged dangerously close to his spine, threatening his ability to ever walk again. Specialists have scheduled a delicate spinal operation for next week, a procedure that carries enormous risk.
Okoth’s condition paints a chilling picture of the growing violence meted out on unarmed civilians during protests. Once full of life and hope, he now depends on hospital staff for everything, even for relieving himself, using a plastic bag due to paralysis symptoms.
He wasn’t alone in his ordeal. Two other protesters who attempted to help him after the shooting were also hit. “One of them got shot in the leg while holding me. He dropped me, and we ended up in the same ambulance,” Okoth added.
Okoth’s case is disturbingly similar to that of Boniface Kariuki, the now-iconic mask hawker who was shot in the head by a police officer in broad daylight outside Imenti House, an incident that was caught on camera and sent shockwaves across the nation.
According to Okoth, the same officer who shot Kariuki is the one who shot him moments after he questioned the shooting. That officer has since been arrested and is facing charges, but Okoth and his family are calling for a broader investigation and a deeper reckoning with the actions of law enforcement during public protests.
As both Kariuki and Okoth remain hospitalized, their cases have become symbols of a nation at a dangerous crossroads, where civic expression is increasingly met with brute force. Rights groups, families, and citizens are now demanding accountability, financial support, and systemic reform.
Samuel’s mother, overwhelmed by medical expenses and emotional anguish, pleads:
“My son went out to speak for his future. Now he doesn’t know if he’ll ever walk again. We need help. We need justice.”
The list of protest victims hospitalized at KNH is growing. Each story adds weight to the urgent conversation around police brutality, misuse of force, and the rights of protesters in a democratic society. As the nation grapples with political discontent, the human cost of silence is becoming too loud to ignore.
