NAIROBI, Kenya — Boniface Mwangi Kariuki, the hawker who was shot at close range during a demonstration in Nairobi on June 17, has tragically died. He passed away on Monday at 3:15 p.m., according to family spokesperson Emily Wanjira.
“Boniface is no more. We have just viewed his body,” family spokeswoman Emily Wanjira told Vivid Voice News.
Kariuki had been receiving intensive care at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) since the incident, when he was shot in the city center.
An official at the hospital confirmed his passing to reporters, stating, “It is true he passed on more than an hour ago. The family will give you more details.”
The family spokesperson, Emily Wanjira, had previously informed the press on Sunday that they received a call from the hospital at midnight on Saturday, confirming Kariuki’s state of being brain dead. He had since been maintained on life support.
The 22-year-old spent nearly two weeks on a life-support machine, before his family were told by doctors that his heart was still beating but his brain had ceased to function.
Doctors had carried out several operations but some bullet fragments were reportedly still lodged in his brain.
Meanwhile, the two police officers allegedly involved in the shooting, Klinzy Barasa Masinde and Duncan Kiprono, remain in custody.
They were detained on June 19 at Capitol Hill Police Station for 15 days, pending investigations by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA). Authorities indicate they are likely to face murder charges.
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The shooting, which occurred along Mondlane Street as police dispersed demonstrators, was captured on camera. Corporal Nahshon Zoka of the Homicide Bureau at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) stated that good Samaritans rushed Kariuki to KNH, where he underwent surgery and was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit in critical condition.
The DCI had arrested the officers on June 18 and booked them at Capitol Hill Police Station.
The DCI had sought an additional 21 days for their detention to allow for various investigative procedures, including ballistic analysis of the officers’ firearms, forensic review of CCTV footage, analysis of scene samples by the Government Chemist, and the recording of statements from witnesses.
The victim, Boniface Mwangi Kariuki, had been unable to speak prior to his passing.
