Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) CEO William Sigilai has confirmed that the hawker shot by a police officer during Tuesday's protests underwent surgery at the facility.
Speaking during a press conference on Wednesday, Dr Sigilai confirmed that the hawker received emergency surgery at the hospital, during which an object believed to be a bullet was removed from the left side of his head. He was subsequently taken to the Intensive Care Unit, where he remains.
However, he could not confirm whether the object was a live bullet or a rubber bullet, stating that all objects removed from all casualties had been taken for further analysis.
"Usually, when we remove foreign bodies from the bodies of injured persons, they are submitted for analysis, and that is what we will establish. I can only say that we suspect it was rubber, but we are not experts in that field," he stated.
Besides the hawker, the hospital confirmed that 15 others, totalling 16 casualties, were rushed to the hospital's emergency wing as a result of the protests.
"In total, we received 16 casualties in our accident and emergency centre yesterday from the protests. The injuries that were described ranged from gunshot wounds to blunt trauma," he stated.
Of the 16, seven were admitted to the facility for further treatment, while the other nine were treated and promptly discharged.
By Wednesday morning, two had undergone surgery, and four more were on the theatre waiting list awaiting surgery.
He further reported that one casualty, who had suffered skull fractures from blunt trauma to the head, had yet to be identified as of Wednesday morning.
Although Dr Sigilai stated that the hospital was apprehensive about releasing the identity of the shot hawker, his father, who he confirmed had been in touch with the hospital, has since spoken to the media, identifying him as Boniface Kariuki.
He further revealed that his 22-year-old son was the firstborn in a family of four children and was shot by the police while carrying out his routine business of selling masks within Nairobi CBD.
The two police officers involved in the confrontation that led to the shooting were arrested hours later and are expected to be arraigned in court on Wednesday.
