Youth Affairs PS Fikirini caught up in youth organiser’s murder probe

Youth Affairs Principal Secretary Fikirini Jacobs has become the focus of a murder investigation following the fatal shooting of 28-year-old youth mobiliser Cecil Otieno Ouma after a youth empowerment forum in Nairobi.

Detectives have so far recorded statements from seven people, including two police officers attached to the Principal Secretary’s security detail, as investigators seek to establish how a confrontation that police say involved warning shots ended with Ouma suffering fatal gunshot wounds.

The shooting occurred on July 1, 2026, shortly after a youth sensitisation and empowerment forum organised by the State Department for Youth Affairs at Kariokor Social Hall in Kamukunji Sub-county in Nairobi.

The PS’s bodyguards have since been disarmed in order to subject their firearms for ballistic examination to identify the firearm that fired the fatal shots.

According to witnesses, Ouma had helped mobilise youths to attend the event.

However, two police reports recorded hours apart present an incomplete picture of what transpired and leave unanswered questions over the circumstances under which Ouma was shot.

The first report, recorded at Pangani Police Station at 8.05 p.m., states that the incident occurred shortly after 5 p.m. as the Principal Secretary and his security team left Kariokor Social Hall.

Police said the convoy was “accosted by rowdy youth who surrounded and hung onto the PS’s motor vehicle… demanding for handouts.”

According to the report, about 100 youths followed the convoy from the meeting venue, opened vehicle doors and allegedly stole mobile phones belonging to two police officers attached to the Principal Secretary’s security detail.

Investigators further state that the convoy’s rear windscreen was shattered with stones as the driver sped away.

“The bodyguards then fired shots in the air to disperse them,” the report states, adding that police officers on patrol intervened and prevented the crowd from pursuing the convoy further.

The Principal Secretary was later escorted safely to his residence, while one suspect, identified as Bob Moses Ogweno, was arrested and is expected to face charges.

However, a second police report recorded at about 10 p.m. paints a different picture.

The report states that Park Road Nursing Home informed police at around 9 p.m. that a man with gunshot wounds had been brought to the facility and was pronounced dead.

The deceased was identified as Cecil Otieno Ouma.

Police officers who visited the hospital found Ouma’s body bearing three gunshot wounds—two on the left hand and one below the left breast.

The report, however, does not explain where the shooting occurred, who fired the shots or whether the injuries were connected to the confrontation involving the Principal Secretary’s convoy.

The two reports do not directly link Ouma’s death to the earlier incident, but investigators are now seeking to determine whether the firearms discharged by the Principal Secretary’s security detail caused the fatal injuries.

The initial police report makes no mention of any civilian being injured despite detailing the alleged theft of police officers’ phones, damage to the official vehicle and the firing of warning shots.

Similarly, the death report confirms Ouma’s gunshot wounds but provides no account of the events leading to the shooting, the exact location where he was shot, whether witnesses have been identified or whether the firearm responsible has been recovered for forensic examination.

Witnesses have, however, presented a markedly different account of events.

They claim Ouma was among youths mobilised to attend the empowerment forum and that after the meeting ended at around 5 p.m., the Principal Secretary distributed money to participants.

According to the witnesses, some youths rejected the amount offered and selected Ouma to return the money to the Principal Secretary.

One witness alleged that Ouma approached the Principal Secretary’s vehicle and was shot while inside the vehicle before being pushed onto the road.

He was then rushed to Park Road Nursing Home, where he was pronounced dead after suffering severe blood loss.

These allegations have not been confirmed by police or investigators.

The incident has sparked demands for accountability from political leaders and the victim’s family.

One Member of Parliament questioned the circumstances surrounding Ouma’s death, saying the deceased had attended the government function after being invited and should not have been treated as a criminal.

“PS, you are a member of our party. The deceased is a member of our party. I need more information. No one has a right to kill the youth of our party because of politics. He was not a goon. You are the one who personally invited him,” the MP said.

The legislator also called for disciplinary action against those responsible and urged the Principal Secretary to resign pending investigations.

Ouma’s family has equally demanded justice.

“As a family, we want justice to be served. There is no way you can call people to a function and then shoot them,” a family member said.