A fresh wave of protests erupted in Kiambu town on Tuesday, July 8, as residents took to the streets to demonstrate over the death of a 12-year-old girl.
Protesters took to the streets by their hundreds as they sought justice for the family of the 12-year-old, who was reportedly killed by a stray bullet during Saba Saba Day protests.
By Tuesday afternoon, police were on deck to repel protesters along major arteries leading to Kiambu town, with several reports indicating the Kiambu-Limuru Road was the most volatile.
While there were no major incidents of vandalism, protesters lit bonfires on several roads in Kiambu, rendering them impassable.
According to the girl's mother, the family sought refuge from the protests in their home, but a bullet somehow managed to hit the preteen on the head, killing her instantly.
"We were at the house with my daughter around 6:20pm when we heard a bang. I saw my daughter with blood on her hands. We thought she had cut herself, but when I looked at her, she fell to the ground. She had a hole in her head," the mother painfully recounted.
The family hurried her to St. Bridget's Hospital, where doctors attempted to resuscitate her and prepare her for surgery. They discovered her heart had stopped beating. After multiple unsuccessful resuscitation attempts, the doctors had no choice but to declare her dead.
Earlier in the day, police had manned a roadblock, preventing entry into Kiambu town in a possible precautionary measure against protests amid tensions in the area.
However, hours later, residents turned out in large numbers to protest, with some demanding accountability from law enforcers over the violence and casualties on Monday.
The protests occupied a large part of Kiambu Road from Thindigua towards Kiambu town, where hundreds of civilians were spotted walking towards the town.
Further reports indicate that police were forcefully asking business owners to close down their businesses.
Kiambu was one of the hardest hit by the Saba Saba Day protests on Monday, with the 12-year-old girl reportedly among several feared dead from the skirmishes between police and protesters.
