Families crying for justice, victims still missing one year later after Gen Z led protests
Among those who left their homes on the morning of Tuesday, June 25, 2024, to raise their voices in clamour for better governance, some were never heard from again, as others ended up in the City mortuary that evening
What started as an outcry for accountability on June 18 last year erupted into one of the most defining moments in the country’s history.
Among those who left their homes on the morning of Tuesday, June 25, 2024, to raise their voices in clamour for better governance, some were never heard from again, as others ended up in the City mortuary that evening.
Today marks one year since the Gen Z protests, which shook the country to the core.
While Kenya moves forward, some families are trapped in nightmares, still grieving, waiting for their loved ones and action from the President William Ruto’s led Kenya Kwanza administration.
Rex Masai was the first victim to pay the price of anti-government protests days before June 25, 2024.
His mother, Gillian Munyao, narrates that her quest for justice for her son has not been a walk in the park, as many witnesses who had promised to come forward and testify have since withdrawn, causing delays in the ongoing case.
“Many of the witnesses have now withdrawn, and we are afraid that we may never get justice for our son,” she shared with local media.
Caroline Mutisya, mother to Erickson Mutisya, who was on the morning of the fateful day before receiving a call from his phone by someone else and not him, that he was dead, shares that despite recording numerous statements, she has never received assurance of justice or assistance.
“Every day I recall the morning of June 25, I shed tears. We have gone to the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) and the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), but nothing has happened.
Tom Mwadime, a brother to one of the many victims, Kevin Muasya, who was shot in Githurai 45, says her mother tried seeking audience to get justice but in vain, as she is ailing.
Denzel Omondi, a young University Student who filmed himself during the Parliament invasion, was found dead days later in an abandoned quarry.
The family lawyer, Apollo Mboya, told some local press that the autopsy indicated he died from drowning because he was thrown in the river while still breathing.
He shares that they will pursue justice later, one year one.
The family of Kevin Odhiambo shares that all they want is justice for their son and nothing more.
“My brother was just 13 years old. Why are they not willing to help us get justice? All we want is justice and nothing less,” the late’s brother Daniel Otieno shares.
The mother of 21-year-old Evans Kiraitu asks the government to explain why her son and 62 others were killed during the protest.
“Explain to me and the rest of the parents why you killed our kids,” Ann Wanjiru poses.
While marking the anniversary last week at the All Saints Cathedral in Nairobi, the parents who are still bitter with the loss of their kids and no justice from the government, share that the officers involved in the shooting should also be fatally shot for their parents to feel the pain and be equal.
Edith Wanjiku Kamau, mother to 19-year-old Ibrahim Kamau, deep in pain, recounts how her life was shattered the evening when she learned of the killing of her son while in the Nairobi CBD.
All she wants is the officer involved in the shooting to be accountable.
“The pain of accepting that Kamau was gone just like that is unbearable. Every time I see leather jackets, which he loved, I see him. I talk about him every day,” she stated.
Twelve months later, 27 year old Peter Macharia son of Alice Wambui has never come back nor his body ever found.
The mother shared that the Kenyatta National Hospital indicated that he had been treated at the facility with a gunshot would but never shared details of where he was whether dead or alive as she was told to check at the Nairobi funeral home.
“We he left, he never came backend when night came, we went to City morgue looked for him but he was not there and we were told to check at Kenyatta. At KNH we were told that he was not there and that we go back to City. Papers at KNH indicated he was treated and discharged. KNH said the gunshot wound was minor,” she shares.
She has lost her job and will to go own as she has even lost 25 kilograms surviving with her remaining kids.
One year later, no officer has been convicted of the June 25 atrocities even as families remember their loved ones and call for justice to be served.
As Gen Z marches to the protest today in remembrance of the 63, a report from Missing Voices and the Kenya Human Rights Commission indicates that last year, the percentage of enforced disappearances rose by 24.
Most of the extrajudicial killings happened between June and August, with June recording the highest number of 38 killings.
