A 12-year-old girl tragically lost her life after a stray bullet struck her in the head while she was watching television at her home in Ndumberi Village. The incident occurred during the chaos that followed the “Saba Saba Day” commemorations.
Bridgit Njoki, a Grade Seven pupil at Benson Njau Primary School, was inside her house with her two siblings when a stray bullet pierced through the roof and struck her.
The victim’s families are demanding justice, compensation and an independent investigation into the use of live bullets by police.
Lucy Ngugi, mother of 12-year-old Bridgit Njoki, painfully recounted the events that led to her daughter’s death, saying, “It was around 6:20 p.m., we were at home as a family when tragedy struck. A stray bullet penetrated our house and hit my daughter on the head.”
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Ngugi, a teacher, added that their home is located two kilometers from the main road where the Sabasaba Day protests were taking place. Njoki died while being resuscitated at St. Brigid’s Hospital in Kiambu Town.
Leonard Wainaina, Njoki’s father, said he is devastated by the loss of his daughter, who had big dreams of joining Alliance Girls’ High School.
“I was with my daughter at home. She was inside the house watching television with her siblings. I heard a loud bang while tending to the chickens. I rushed in and found my daughter on the floor, blood oozing from her head,” he said.
He questioned how a bullet could travel such a distance from the protest area to their house.
“We are deep inside the village. How can a live bullet come all the way to our home when the protests were happening along Kiambu–Ndumberi Road? The bullet pierced through the roof,” he added.
Wainaina called for dialogue between the government and protesting youth to avoid further loss of innocent lives.
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“These protests are costing too many innocent lives. We kindly urge the government to talk to the youth. Families are suffering because of deaths involving people who had nothing to do with the demonstrations,” he said.
The chaos also left 18-year-old Kevin Muiruri with a gunshot wound to his left leg in Kabete Constituency. He was fleeing the clashes when he was shot and left unattended by the police. Good Samaritans later rushed him to the hospital.
Former Kiambu MP Jude Njomo, who visited the grieving families, called for an independent probe.
“How can the police investigate themselves after killing innocent young people? We need international bodies to step in and investigate. The victims deserve justice,” he said.
Njomo also criticized the police for allegedly downplaying the number of fatalities.
“The official report claims only one person died in Kiambu, yet families have confirmed at least six deaths,” he said.
Parents also voiced concerns over the alleged use of hired “goons” by authorities in the Mt. Kenya region, accusing police of targeting innocent youths who are neither looting nor throwing stones.
By Felix Njenga
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