Police officers lob teargas at Azimio leader Raila Odinga's motorcade outside Serena Hotel, Nairobi on Monday, March 20, 2023.
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A family in the Kibera slum mourned their baby who died on Friday, March 31, due to breathing toxic tear gas.
The parents of the deceased baby claimed that the newborn developed breathing difficulties after police lobbed teargas into the house.
Joyce Kemunto, the grieving mother, alleged that police lobbed a barrage of teargas in the neighbourhood, forcing her family to seek protection under the coverings in the house.
"A tear gas canister broke through our roof and fell into the house, exposing us to chemicals," Kemunto lamented.
Damaged windscreen after armed suspects attack Citizen TV journalists in Kibra on Monday, March 27, 2023.
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Seth Olale
The stenchy smoke billowing from the teargas soon engulfed the small house where Kemunto was staying with her baby.
Kemunto also explained that she could not immediately run outside as police officers engaged protesters in running battles.
Torn between trying to save her child from choking and facing the police close to her house, Kemunto resorted to clearing her house and getting rid of the teargas canister.
"I took a wet piece of cloth and used it to try and offer my child First Aid as he was choking. The baby was unable to breathe normally," Kemunto narrated.
However, it was late for the newborn, who was fighting for his life due to complications from the teargas.
"For a while, I thought the baby was getting better but he continued to cry uncontrollably," Kemunto explained with her tears rolling down her chin.
The helpless mother watched as her baby became too weak, and she frantically did everything possible to save his life.
"The baby started excreting form in his nose, and it became clear that my baby was in immense danger but there were running battles that prevented me from immediately taking him to the hospital," Kemunto told Journalists.
The newborn died sometime in the evening, and the body was transferred to the City Mortuary as the family plans for his burial.
Other families in Kibera and Mathare lamented that the protests hurt their children. In Mathare, women were forced to surrender to the police, pleading with them to exercise restraint and protect their babies from suffocation.
Police were yet to respond to the allegations by the time of publishing this article.
Police officers calming protestors during a riot in Nairobi on Thursday March 30, 2023
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