KMTC student Cheryl Adhiambo shot in Huruma was killed by gunshot to the head, autopsy report shows
The 21-year-old Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) student Cheryl Adhiambo who was shot in Nairobi’s Huruma area died from a single gunshot wound to the head, an autopsy examination has revealed.
The revelation comes amid heightened scrutiny over police conduct during a security operation in Nairobi’s Huruma estate.
The examination, conducted by pathologists Grace Midigo and Simon Omuok, established that the bullet entered through the left side of Adhiambo’s head and exited at the back, causing catastrophic brain damage.
The injuries, the pathologists concluded, were instantly fatal, ruling out any chance of survival.
Adhiambo was shot on the evening of February 7, 2026 during a police operation targeting suspected robbers, an incident that has since triggered protests and unrest in Huruma, with residents accusing police of excessive use of force.
Human rights activists and political leaders have seized on the postmortem findings to renew calls for accountability, demanding the identification and prosecution of the officer responsible for the fatal shot.
The case has added to growing public concern over the use of live ammunition by police in residential areas.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) confirmed it has deployed a rapid response team to investigate the circumstances surrounding Adhiambo’s death.
According to IPOA, investigators are collecting forensic evidence, recording witness statements, and analysing ballistic and scene-of-crime exhibits to determine whether police actions complied with the law and use-of-force regulations.
However, the National Police Service (NPS) has offered a sharply different account of events. Police say the operation followed a robbery report made earlier that day at Huruma Police Station, in which a complainant alleged he was attacked by five individuals known to him, robbed of a silver chain and KSh1,800, and threatened with death.
Officers reportedly arrested two suspects initially, then tracked down two more later that evening.
During the second arrest, police claim one suspect raised an alarm, attracting a hostile crowd that began pelting officers with stones in an attempt to free the suspects.
According to the NPS, officers fired warning shots into the air to disperse the crowd. It was during this chaos, police say, that Adhiambo was fatally shot though they did not explain how an aerial warning shot resulted in a lethal head wound.
