Kenyans have taken to social media to demand justice for six-year-old Jeremy Otieno, one of several people shot during protests in western city of Kisumu on Monday. The boy was hit by a stray bullet while police dispersed demonstrators who want IEBC commissioners to leave office.
Otieno was shot in the back while at their house in Kasule, Manyatta estate. Through #JusticeForBabyJeremy, Kenyans expressed dissatisfaction in the manner in which police handled the protests.
The national protests led by Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (Cord) Opposition leader Raila Odinga has cited failure by relevant Government institutions to act on grievances against the electoral commission as one of the reasons they resorted to public protests.
Raila cited Kenya’s ruling party-Jubilee’s control of the National Assembly, has dismissed a petition against the polls’ chiefs, and the failure by the anti-corruption agency to charge electoral commissioners over the Chickengate scandal, to justify Opposition protests to kick out Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) commissioners.
Kenyans using the hashtag condemned the shootings saying the bullets should have been used to kill robbers and not the innocent. One person was killed during the protests in the county.
Cord said it would move to court on Tuesday to start legal proceedings against Inspector General Joseph Boinnet over the killing of the protester. Siaya County Senator James Orengo said they will sue Boinnet so that he is “held personally responsible for the killing of a peaceful protester by police”.
Dennis Onyango, Cord leader Raila Odinga’s personal assistant, reported this via Facebook on Monday. Onyango had said two people were killed in Kisumu but hospital officials said they only knew of one.
Two major supermarkets in the town, had their windows and doors smashed by vandals during the protests but would-be looters were repulsed.
All businesses in the lakeside town were closed all morning for fear of looting.
Juliana Otieno, superintendent at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital, said 12 casualties with bullet wounds had been admitted to her hospital. She said Kisumu County hospital reported one dead and others with bullet wounds. A nurse at Kisumu hospital also confirmed one dead there.
