An eight-year-old Class One pupil is nursing serious injuries at the Coast General Provincial Hospital after she was shot by a police bullet.
Fatma Yusuf was hit by the bullet on Thursday while playing with her friends near their home in Kisauni.
The pupil from St Thomas Primary School in Kiembeni suffered a severe shot to her left leg during the incident where police were chasing after suspected criminals.
"I wanted to run like everyone else but I couldn’t; it was too late. I had been shot. I didn’t know what was happening; I was scared. I just saw blood oozing from my thighs," Fatma narrated from her hospital bed.
[caption caption="Photo of Yusuf Mranja with his daughter Fatma Yusuf at the Coast General Provincial Hospital after the girl was shot by a stray police bullet in Kisauni"]
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Fatma's father, Yusuf Mranja told journalists that he was at work at the time of the incident and that his daughter had just returned home from a visit to her grandmother.
"I was at work when all this happened. Her leg is broken and I am so sad. I just want justice for my child; she is my last born. Her dream is to become a beautician but with this injury, she might not make it," he narrated.
The incident sparked outrage in Junda village where the family lives as residents called on Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji to intervene.
Commission for Human Rights and Justice (CFHRJ) Executive Director Julius Ogogoh rallied the resident together claiming that the officers involved had handled their firearms carelessly.
"The police should be arrested for harming an innocent child. This is carelessness and negligence in the handling of firearms by law enforcers," he stated.
Mombasa County Police Commander Johnston Ipara, however, defended his officers assuring residents that they were only responding to a distress call and had not intended to cause any harm.
[caption caption="Mombasa Police Commander Johnstone Ipara at his office during a past encounter with members of the press"]
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The incident is close in nature to the unfortunate murder of Stephanie Moraa who was shot dead on the balcony of their home by a stray bullet in Mathare during the 2017 post-election incidents in Nairobi.
