Nanyuki residents have threatened to protest beginning next week on Tuesday, following the mysterious death of Julia Njoki, who passed away in police custody.
The 24-year-old reportedly died days after she was arrested on Monday, July 7, while heading home after the recent Saba Saba Day protests.
Addressing the press on Saturday, July 12, the residents said they would hold protests should the government fail to apprehend the suspects behind Njoki's death.
One of the residents claimed that police officers were directly responsible for the injuries that led to Njoki's demise and that they neglected her plight after she sustained the injuries while in the police cell.
"The information we have is that the girl was beaten inside the cell. She was beaten with a blunt object. That is what made her collapse, and she told the police she was not feeling well, but they neglected her," said a resident.
"When Njoki was being taken to the hospital, she could not talk, she could not even move her body, she was just dead," added another resident.
While announcing the looming protests, the residents vowed to demonstrate until the government reveals the exact cause of the 24-year-old’s death.
According to family members, Njoki was arrested on Saba Saba Day and spent the night in a police cell. The next day, she was arraigned at the Nanyuki Law Courts, where she was released on a Ksh50,000 bond.
However, the deceased’s family was unable to raise the amount, forcing police officers to remand Njoki at the Nanyuki GK Prison. It is believed that Njoki suffered the injuries while in the remand prison.
Attempts to rush her to the hospital for treatment proved futile as Njoki succumbed to the injuries moments after she arrived at the Nanyuki Teaching and Referral Hospital.
Meanwhile, the residents also demanded justice for Thomas Gachara, a Form Three student who was reportedly shot dead by a police officer during the recent protests.
Footage widely shared on the internet showed a police officer aiming and shooting at a young man, believed to be Gachara, in the leg. In the time-lapse clip, the youth is seen immediately falling to the ground, dead.
